WASHINGTON—About 27 percent of the estimated 565,000 gay couples in the U.S. are in officially sanctioned relationships, according to the first U.S. census figures released about same-sex unions. Nearly 150,000 gay couples classified themselves as married or in some other form of legal relationship in 2008, although the U.S. Census Bureau estimated only about 100,000 official weddings, civil unions and domestic partnerships have taken place nationwide. Analysts attributed the disparity to commitments in states where no official sanctions for same-sex relationships exist.
“Even though in 2008 there were only a few states where you could get legally married, a large portion of same-sex couples either were married or chose to use that term,” Gary Gates, a demographer at UCLA who advises the Census Bureau, told the AP.
The figures provide a stark contrast to the 91 percent of legally sanctioned relationships among 61.3 million heterosexual American couples.
The 2008 count served as a precursor to an official tally to be undertaken in 2010 as part of the national census conducted every 10 years. Previous census records include some information about same-sex couples, but only those who volunteered the information were included. Next year, when a same-sex union category is added to the “marital status” question, results may prove current estimates under- or over-represent reality.
According to an Associated Press report, lesbian couples compose about 56 percent of the 149,956 same-sex unions revealed by the 2008 figures. Although the data reveal same-sex couples exist in every state, no geographic breakdown has been made available.
In 2008, same-sex marriage was legal in California, Massachusetts, Iowa and Connecticut. A handful of other states sanctioned gay civil unions. In addition, some same-sex couples married in Canada and other foreign countries.
Oddly, census data for previous years indicates higher percentages of same-sex unions. In 2007, although only about 11,000 same-sex marriage licenses had been issued nationwide, nearly half of the 754,000 gay couples surveyed reported being in a marriage-like relationship. In 2005 and 2006, 390,000 of the nearly 780,000 same-sex couples considered themselves “married,” according to the AP. Census Bureau officials chalked up the percentage discrepancies to changes in counting and classification methodology between 2007 and 2008.
In Iowa, which last year legalized same-sex marriages after a unanimous decision by the state Supreme Court overturned a 10-year-old ban, a recent poll conducted by the Des Moines Register determined 92 percent of residents believe “gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives.”
The finding contradicts the claim put forward by social conservatives that sanctioning same-sex relationships will undermine traditional family values and lead to widespread societal corruption.
