Same-Sex Couples Divorcing Much Less Than Straight Couples

Remember how the Christofascist claimed that gays will "destroy marriage"?  Yet another study reveals that the real threat to marriage comes from straight couples.  Just as evangelical Christians in the Bible Belt have the highest divorce rate (Massachusetts, the first state to have same-sex marriage, has the lowest divorce rate in the country), straight couples are divorcing at a higher rate than same sex-couples.  The Williams Institute at University of California (Los Angeles) School of Law studied the rate of marriage and divorce of same-sex couples in the year since the Supreme Court struck down part of Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and found that the divorce rate for gays was half that of their straight counterparts.  Here are highlights from The New Civil Rights Movement:

A major finding reveals that currently, same-sex couples are about half as likely to divorce as different-sex couples. And same-sex couples married at a rate about double in 2013 versus in 2102.
Married same-sex couples are divorcing at a 1.1 percent rate, compared to a 2 percent rate of different-sex couples, the Williams Institute notes.

"In early 2014, the Williams Institute collected administrative data on marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships of same-sex couples in the 23 states that offered these statuses at the time data collection began," the study finds. "Two states provided data on divorces: New Hampshire and Vermont. Six states provided data on civil union and domestic partnership terminations: California, D.C, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Washington, and Wisconsin."

The Williams Institute also found differences in female same-sex couples versus male same-sex couples.

"The first analysis shows that female couples are more likely to formalize their relationships than male couples. Female couples account for just over half (51%) of all same-sex couples in the U.S. However, data from the state agencies show that 64% of same-sex couples who entered into legal statuses were female couples."

The study also finds that the SCOTUS decision last summer greatly impacted the decision to marry, even in couples who lived in marriage equality states.  Calling it "the Windsor effect," they note that the "data show that the number of same-sex couples who married nearly doubled in marriage equality states from 2012 to 2013."