One in Five Same-Sex Couples Consider Themselves Married

Even though many of us live in states that bar legal recognition of same sex relationships - Neanderthal like and backwater Virginia being one such state - more and more same sex couples are willing to identify themselves as "married" even though legal recognition is denied to them. Personally, I increasingly check the "married" box when filling out surveys, doctor office information sheets, etc. Apparently I'm not alone in doing so. As the Washington Post reports now 20% of same sex couples identify themselves as married regardless of the efforts of the Christofascists and self-enriching whores like Maggie Gallagher who make a plush living peddling anti-gay hatred. As more of us so identify, the minds and hearts of others are opened and slowly change is occurring as more and more employers provide partner benefits and recognition of relationships. Here are some highlights from the Post story:

One in five of the nation’s 646,000 same-sex couples consider themselves married, according to census figures released Tuesday showing a sharp rise in the number of gay people willing to identify themselves as couples.

Same-sex couples make up just 1 percent of the 64 million couples in the country, including married couples and unmarried partners, and barely half a percentage point of all households. But the number of same-sex couples increased 80 percent over those counted in the 2000 Census.

The figures represent couples who identified themselves to the census as spouses or unmarried partners living together. A post-census study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that 10 percent of same-sex couples did not reveal their relationship, even though the census is confidential. “The bulk of the increase is people being more willing to identify themselves,” said Gary Gates, a Williams Institute demographer who analyzes trends in the gay community. “There might be some increased partnering as the stigma declines, but that can’t explain it all.”

The census statistics show same-sex couples in every state, including married couples living in states where their unions are not legally recognized. . . . . About 12,500 same-sex couples live in Maryland, where a same-sex marriage bill was voted down this year. More than 14,000 live in Virginia, which does not recognize the legality of gay marriages performed out of state. Each state has about 2,500 married same-sex couples.

The numbers are only an estimate, however. The census initially said it counted 902,000 same-sex couples. But further analysis led the Census Bureau to revise the numbers markedly downward, not only for last year’s census but for 2000. Martin O’Connell, chief of the fertility and family statistics branch of the census, blamed a faulty design in the questionnaire used when census enumerators came to the doors of people who did not mail their forms back.

Click image of state by state figures below to enlarge: