SAN FRANCISCO - Three new research studies - two of which are scheduled to be published in the March 2009 issue of the National Sexuality Resource Center's peer-reviewed journal Sexuality Research and Social Policy - indicate "separate but equal" is no more equal in the matrimonial realm than it is in education. Consequently, the authors strongly suggest American policymakers dispense with efforts to define marriage as "the union of one man and one woman."
That was the core message of a press conference hosted Tuesday morning at the resource center. According to researchers and members of the GLBT community, ballot initiatives and marriage denial should be considered a public health issue, because they create significant physical, psychological and social risks for the communities under attack.
What's more, denial of marriage and exposure to negative messages during ballot initiatives affect all gays and lesbians - not just those seeking marriage.
The independent studies' findings indicate same-sex couples want marriage more than other forms of partnership; that exposure to negative messages in states in which marriage amendments are on ballots negatively impacts all lesbian, gay and bisexual persons; and that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex relationships creates fears for and uncertainty about the future among lesbian and gay persons whether they are single or coupled. In addition, marriage initiatives often alienate GLBT individuals and communities from the democratic process.
"The absence of recognition for same-sex relationships conveys a sense of second-class citizenship and a stress associated with such an unwelcomed status," journal editor and contributor Dr. Brian deVries said. "All gay, lesbian and bisexual persons - not just those who want to get married - can experience negative impacts when initiatives like [California's Proposition 8] get put on the ballot."
DeVries' article "State Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships and Preparations for End of Life among Lesbian and Gay Boomers" established that without marriage, fears about the future and one's independence far exceed national averages among gay men and lesbian women. In states in which same-sex relationships are not formally or legally recognized, gay men and lesbians are more likely to have created a will and living will. They also are more likely to report fearing a death in pain, and fear of discrimination at the end of their lives because of their sexual orientation. These effects are evident for both coupled and single gay men and lesbians - an important finding highlighting the role that relationship recognition has on one's sense of well-being as a lesbian or gay person.
Negative messages become even more pronounced during state elections in which there is voting on constitutional amendments that restrict marriage rights. "Marriage Amendments and Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Citizens in the 2006 Election" by Ellen D.B. Riggle, Sharon S. Rostosky and Sharon Horne, reveals that lesbian, gay and bisexual persons report higher levels of exposure to negative messages about lesbian and gay issues with associated higher levels of reported negative affect, stress and depressive symptoms. Lesbian, gay and bisexual state residents report increased political participation and increased voting behaviors, and simultaneous feelings of political alienation.
The research of Gary Gates, M.V. Lee Badgett and Deborah Ho in "Marriage, Registration and Dissolution by Same-Sex Couples in the U.S." (published in July 2008), establishes that same-sex couples, like opposite-sex couples, prefer marriage. In fact, 37 percent of same-sex couples in Massachusetts married during the first year after marriage was legalized - compared with the 12 percent of same-sex couples who entered into civil unions and 10 percent who entered domestic partnerships during the first year in which states have offered those forms of relationship recognition.
One survey respondent decried effects of initiatives, saying "These amendments make you feel like less of a person. They make you a second-class citizen and make it seem that you aren't worthy of having the same rights as other people."
NSRC director Gil Herdt agreed: "The physical and mental health benefits of marriage for heterosexual adults have been firmly established - benefits derived, at least in part, from the tangible resources, federal benefits and legal protections offered to spouses by society. Clearly, society favors marriage over other forms of intimate relationships - and all gays and lesbians suffer without it."
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