Marriage equality has had a positive impact on marriage overall

A new study has found that marriage equality not only has had no negative effects on heterosexual couples but has actually led to an increase in marriage overall, regardless of sexuality.

The report, by RAND and UCLA, analyzed marriage data going back 20 years – when states first began to legalize same-sex marriage – and looked at almost 100 other studies to determine that marriage equality has provided important benefits to LGBTQ+ couples without having any negative effects on different-sex marriages.

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Study coauthor Benjamin R. Karney explained in a press release that many who were against marriage equality thought it “would undermine the institution of marriage, resulting in fewer couples marrying, more couples divorcing, and an overall retreat from family formation but that “overall, the fears of opponents of same-sex marriage simply have not come to pass.”

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In fact, states that legalized same-sex marriage saw increases in marriage rates that could not only be accounted for with the number of same-sex marriages that took place in those states.

“We find no evidence for a retreat from marriage,” said RAND economist and study co-author Melanie A. Zaber. “In fact, there is evidence suggesting that by extending marriage rights to a greater number of couples, interest in marriage increased. And that finding isn’t limited to same-sex couples — this is also true for the broader population.”

The study also found that similar to heterosexual couples, married LGBTQ+ couples have better mental and physical health than couples without legally protected status or with a different form of status. STD rates also “fell significantly,” according to the research, in states where same-sex marriage was legal.

Benefits were also observed for the children of LGBTQ+ couples who were allowed to marry, aa adoption rates also rose in states with marriage equality. Married LGBTQ+ couples have also seen increased rates of homeownership and household income, as well as better relationship stability.

“The only changes we detect are suggestive of a renewed salience of marriage among the broader public,” Zaber said. “There is no empirical basis for concerns that allowing same-sex couples to marry has negatively affected different-sex couples and families.”

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