Would majority of homosexuals even decide to marry if legal?

[blaskoman]

If gay marriage becomes legal in my home state of California, would most homosexuals even decide to marry? I don’t know if studies have been done in States where’s it legal, as to what percentage of gays are married/single. From what I understand, homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. With such proclivity, I doubt many can settle down into a committed relationship.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

If gay marriage becomes legal in my home state of California, would most homosexuals even decide to marry? I don’t know if studies have been done in States where’s it legal, as to what percentage of gays are married/single. From what I understand, homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. With such proclivity, I doubt many can settle down into a committed relationship.

If they are just playing the field, no they won’t. However, if they are in a stable relationship with another person, they may very well get married. There will be tax advantages. It’s going to be a new source of revenue for divorce lawyers.

 

[kozlosap]

If gay marriage becomes legal in my home state of California, would most homosexuals even decide to marry? I don’t know if studies have been done in States where’s it legal, as to what percentage of gays are married/single. From what I understand, homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. With such proclivity, I doubt many can settle down into a committed relationship.

WOW, WHAT AN ASSUMPTION!

 

[dee_burk]

From what I understand, homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives…

Where did you hear that? the internet?
i was in a career with many gay men and most the ones i met were in serious monogamous relationships. i have a lot of sympathy for those born with this affliction.
and if i were in a coma and unable to take care of myself in a long term care facility, i would rather a gay man take care of me. the most compassion i have ever witnessed was from a gay male nurse taking care of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) patient that was brain dead for several years.

 

[Regular_Atheist]

If gay marriage becomes legal in my home state of California, would most homosexuals even decide to marry? I don’t know if studies have been done in States where’s it legal, as to what percentage of gays are married/single. From what I understand, homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. With such proclivity, I doubt many can settle down into a committed relationship.

That’s an odd statement to make. Homosexuals are a diverse group, and I’d imagine the lives they lead differ per person. Maybe if you’d said most homosexual men lead promiscuous lives there may be some truth to that, but sweeping statements like that are evidently false.

 

[_Abyssinia]

frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS04C02

Vermont

In April 2000, the governor of the state of Vermont signed a law instituting civil unions for homosexuals. The bill conferred 300 privileges and rights enjoyed by married couples upon same-sex partners who register their relationship with the town clerk and have their union solemnized by a member of the clergy or the justice of the peace.

Estimating the homosexual and lesbian population of Vermont: The number of homosexuals and lesbians in the state of Vermont may be estimated based on national studies. Contrary to the widely promulgated but inaccurate claims that up to ten percent of the population is homosexual, research indicates that homosexuals comprise one to three percent of the population. For example, a recent study in Demography relying upon three large data sets–the General Social Survey, the National Health and Social Life Survey, and the U.S. Census–estimated the number of exclusive male homosexuals in the general population to be 2.5 percent and the number of exclusive lesbians to be 1.4 percent.21]

According to the 2000 Census, the adult population of Vermont is 461,304.22] Based on the Demography study, a reasonable estimate of the number of homosexuals and lesbians in Vermont would be approximately 5,600 (2.5 percent of the adult male population) for male homosexuals, and approximately 3,300 (1.4 percent of the adult female population) for lesbians, for a total of approximately 8,900 homosexuals and lesbians. [Note: these are only rough approximations for purposes of statistical comparison.]

Number of homosexuals and lesbians in Vermont who have entered into civil unions:

USA Today reports that, as of January 2004, only 936 homosexual or lesbian couples (for a total of 1,872 individuals) have entered into civil unions.23] This indicates that only about 21 percent of the estimated homosexual and lesbian population of Vermont has entered into civil unions.* Put another way, 79 percent of homosexuals and lesbians in Vermont choose not to enter into civil unions*.

By contrast, in Vermont, heterosexual married couples outnumber cohabiting couples by a margin of 7 to 1, indicating a much higher level of desire on the part of heterosexual couples to legalize their relationships.24]

For purposes of comparison it may be useful to examine two countries that have granted special rights to homosexuals, including marriage-like civil unions, which grant gays and lesbians virtually all of the rights of marriage.

Sweden

In 1995 Sweden passed the Registered Partnership Act which created civil unions for homosexual couples. In 2003 that law was amended to give registered homosexual couples the same right to adopt or have legal custody of children as married couples. The percentage of homosexual or lesbians in Sweden that enter into civil unions may be estimated as follows:

Estimated homosexual and lesbian population of Sweden: Extrapolating from the Demography estimates in the U.S., a similar percentage of the homosexual and lesbian population of Sweden would be approximately 140,000 (2.5 percent of the adult male population of 3,531,554, and 1.4 percent of the adult female population of 3,679,317).25]

Number of homosexuals and lesbians in Sweden who have registered their unions: The number of registered same-sex unions in Sweden is reported to be about 1,500 (for a total of 3,000 individuals) out of the estimated homosexual and lesbian population of 140,000.26] This indicates that only about two percent of Swedish homosexuals and lesbians choose to enter into legally recognized unions. Put another way, about 98 percent of Swedish homosexuals and lesbians do not officially register as same-sex couples.

 

[_Abyssinia]

At least 76,111 same-sex couples have been legally married in the United States, although the number is probably larger. This makes the United States the country with the most reported same-sex marriages in the world.

This is a summary of the only available statistics I have been able to find:
California - approximately 18,000 between June 16 and November 5, 2008;
Massachusetts - 18,462 as of 5/17/12;
Connecticut - more than 17,000 as of 10/01/09;
New York - at least 8,091 as of 6/24/12;
Washington, DC - approx. 5,500 as of 3/9/12;
Iowa - 4,500 as of 3/31/12;
New Hampshire - at least 2,253 as of 3/27/13;
Vermont - 1,425 as of 12/31/10;
Washington (state) - almost 800;
New Mexico - 64 on February 20, 2004;
Maine - at least 14 as of 12/29/12;
Maryland - at least 14 as of 1/1/13;
Oregon - 1 (Coquille Indian tribe); and,
Michigan - 1 (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians) on March 15, 2013.

wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_same-sex_couples_have_married_in_the_United_States

frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS04C02

The Netherlands

A landmark law allowing same-sex “marriage” was instituted in the Netherlands on March 31, 2001, with a highly publicized communal ceremony that included two lesbian “brides” and six homosexual “grooms.” The Netherlands instituted a “registered partnership” law in 1998 that accorded legal status to homosexual relationships similar to that of marriage. The new law, which explicitly recognizes same-sex matrimony, is restricted to Dutch nationals. However, as the following analysis shows, the percentage of homosexuals and lesbians that have entered into marriage-like civil unions is very low.

Estimated homosexual and lesbian population of the Netherlands: Extrapolating from demographic figures for homosexuals and lesbians in the U.S., a similar percentage for the Netherlands would be 242,000 (2.5 percent of the adult male population of 6,161,662, and 1.4 percent of the adult female population of 6,311,338).27]

Number of Dutch homosexuals and lesbians who have registered their unions: A news report by the Gay Financial Network predicted that “some 10,000 gay couples could be married” in the first year following the legalization of gay “marriage” in the Netherlands. In reality, far fewer chose to solemnize their relationships. The Office of Legislative Research released a report in October 2002 stating: "The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs reports that 3,383 of the 121,776 marriages licensed between April 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, involved people of the same sex."28]

Thus, as of October 2002, only 2.8 percent, or 6,766 individuals (3,383 licenses) out of an estimated homosexual and lesbian population of 242,000, have registered their unions as “married.”

http://www.frc.org/img/item/IS04C02_5.gif

Sources:U.S. Census Bureau, Married-Couple and Unmarried-Partner Households: 2000, 2; Black, “Demographics,” 141; U.S. Census Bureau Census 2000 Summary File 1; Bayles, “Vermont’s Gay Civil Unions,” 1; Census 2000 Special Reports, 4; Shane, “Many Swedes Say ‘I Don’t,’” 1; “ORL Backgrounder,” 1.

The much lower rates of homosexual and lesbian civil “marriages” in Sweden and the Netherlands must be viewed in the light of much lower marriage rates in both of those countries, a trend that the introduction of gay “marriage” in the 1990s has not reversed. Thus, as writer Stanley Kurtz argues, the granting of marriage rights to homosexuals and lesbians “has further undermined the institution” of marriage: "Scandinavian gay marriage has driven home the message that marriage itself is outdated, and that virtually any family form, including out-of-wedlock parenthood, is acceptable."29

Studies have shown gay marriages last for a shorter duration than heterosexual marriages. Research from Stockholm University found that in Norway, male male marriages are 50% more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages, female female marriages are 167% more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages. In Sweden, divorce risk for male gay ‘unions’ is 50% higher than for heterosexual marriages, divorce risk for female gay ‘unions’ is nearly double that

 

[blaskoman]

Correction: MOST homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. Studies have confirmed this. Of course gay men 20-30 are more promiscuous than men from 30-40, etc.

 

[Peter12rb]

It’s an interesting question, but either way it’s answered, shouldn’t be used to determine any policy (and I’m not saying that’s where you’re going with this). I don’t have any stats in front of me, but I think it’s safe to say that lesbian partners will marry at higher numbers than gay male partners. I’d assume (again, no stats) that lesbians would marry at a higher percentage than heterosexual couples (which, let’s face it, as a whole don’t give a perfect example of marriage).

 

[bzkoss236]

I would say that the more outspoken homosexuals would, even if they didn’t really want to, just to throw it in the face of those who are against it.

More ‘conservative’ homosexuals, would only if they really wanted to, as they could care less of others opinions.

 

[DexUK]

The description of ‘most homosexual men’ being promiscuous is misleading if it is compared to the heterosexual population, since a promiscuous heterosexual man needs a woman to be promiscuous with, and women tend not to be so promiscuous.

It is therefore not that homosexuals are intrinsically more promiscuous by instinct, it’s just that, if this proposition is to be believed, homosexual men are more likely to find partners who have a matching instinct for promiscuity than heterosexual men.

In other words, the proportion of men wishing to be promiscuous is related to being male, not related to orientation. The prevalence of it however is linked to the gender of their partners.

One should also not discount the fact that non-chaste men (of any orientation) tend to over-estimate their numbers of sexual conquests - i.e. they’ll brag about it and inflate their numbers. This is clearly seen when surveys are carried out amongst heterosexuals on this subject: the men who claim to be promiscuous outnumber the women by a significant amount, and if you were to try to match the numbers up, you can only come to the conclusion that somewhere a lot of people are lying about the numbers of sexual encounters they have - either the women lie about having as many as they do, or the men lie about having more than they do. I think it’s pretty clear that it’s generally in men’s natures to try to appear to be more virile than they are…

 

[Dakota_Roberts]

Correction: MOST homosexual men lead promiscuous sex lives. Studies have confirmed this. Of course gay men 20-30 are more promiscuous than men from 30-40, etc.

Not really, every study I’ve seen that shows high rates of partners compared to similar heterosexual males has been getting their pool from outside cruising spots which will radically skew your date.

Check OKCupid’s data.

The graph that sums it up
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

The description of ‘most homosexual men’ being promiscuous is misleading if it is compared to the heterosexual population, since a promiscuous heterosexual man needs a woman to be promiscuous with, and women tend not to be so promiscuous.

It is therefore not that homosexuals are intrinsically more promiscuous by instinct, it’s just that, if this proposition is to be believed, homosexual men are more likely to find partners who have a matching instinct for promiscuity than heterosexual men.

In other words, the proportion of men wishing to be promiscuous is related to being male, not related to orientation. The prevalence of it however is linked to the gender of their partners.

One should also not discount the fact that non-chaste men (of any orientation) tend to over-estimate their numbers of sexual conquests - i.e. they’ll brag about it and inflate their numbers. This is clearly seen when surveys are carried out amongst heterosexuals on this subject: the men who claim to be promiscuous outnumber the women by a significant amount, and if you were to try to match the numbers up, you can only come to the conclusion that somewhere a lot of people are lying about the numbers of sexual encounters they have - either the women lie about having as many as they do, or the men lie about having more than they do. I think it’s pretty clear that it’s generally in men’s natures to try to appear to be more virile than they are…

OKCupid found that 2% were having 23% of the sex so yes it does appear that 2% are making the rest look bad

 

[blaskoman]

good work abyssinia

 

[Dakota_Roberts]

good work abyssinia

On the 10 year anniversary of it becoming legal the gay marriage rate was ~20% and the divorce rate was ~7%.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_same-sex_couples_have_married_in_the_United_States

frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS04C02

Studies have shown gay marriages last for a shorter duration than heterosexual marriages. Research from Stockholm University found that in Norway, male male marriages are 50% more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages, female female marriages are 167% more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages. In Sweden, divorce risk for male gay ‘unions’ is 50% higher than for heterosexual marriages, divorce risk for female gay ‘unions’ is nearly double that

Very interesting data. Not really surprising. The media likes to play up homosexual partners as being lifetime devotees, but there are a lot more who go through a period of togetherness and then split up. I don’t think the act of marriage would change that.

 

[markeverett49]

WOW, WHAT AN ASSUMPTION!

I remain in touch with several of the gay men I met in seminary. (A large percentage of them worship in Episcopal churches now but teach in Catholic schools.) I asked about this very thing because it is something I had heard. The most frequent responses I have received are: 1) “No, I don’t plan to marry and I don’t think many gay men will marry, though I believe they have the right to do so if they choose” and 2) “it is common among gay couples who have lived together awhile to ‘open up’ the relationship,” meaning have sex with other people, so long as it is “just sex” and “not an emotional attachment.”

Not ALL gay men do this, but my closest gay friends say it is true for them and also the norm among their friends. I take them at their word.

Mind you, the problem with same-sex “marriage” isn’t that some gay people are promiscuous. It’s wrong even if both partners are faithful to the end.

 

[marymary1975]

On the 10 year anniversary of it becoming legal the gay marriage rate was ~20% and the divorce rate was ~7%.

You have to be careful with divorce data. Remember the way divorce % is calculated is that the grab the number of marriages in the specific year and they divide them by the number of divorces in that same year

 

[Dakota_Roberts]

You have to be careful with divorce data. Remember the way divorce % is calculated is that the grab the number of marriages in the specific year and they divide them by the number of divorces in that same year

Actually I was dividing the total number of divorces by the total number of homosexual marriages and converted to percent