Adco wrote:I was pondering this the other day. What is the divorce rate for gay marriages compared to hetrosexual marriages?

It appears that hetro marriages are not all that strong with the high divorce rates in my country. I don't have exact stats but it looks as if it sits at about 50%. My source is this; half of the couple I know are divorced. I am one of them.

So, I was wondering, do gay marriages last longer and have a better chance of survival because of various factors that I am not aware of? I have not heard of or met a gay couple that have divorced. I must admit that I don't know many gay couples so that might be the reason I haven't heard about it.

Keep It Real wrote:Of course there's no difference - gay and straight marriages are identical in every important way. That's why they're called the same thing. It does make sense. Honest

 Over 140,000 same-sex couples, or 22% of all same-sex couples in the United States, have formalized their relationship under state law within the United States.

 Forty-seven percent of all same-sex couples who live in states that offer some form of legal relationship recognition status have entered into such a status at some point in time.

In the states with available data, dissolution rates for same-sex couples are slightly lower on average than divorce rates of different-sex couples. The percentage of those same sex couples who end their legal relationship ranges from 0% to 1.8% annually, or 1.1% on average, whereas 2% of married different-sex couples divorce annually.

 After taking into account dissolutions and divorces, about 134,000 same-sex couples, or 21% of all U.S. same-sex couples, are currently in a legally recognized relationship. In just those states that offer some form of legal recognition, 43% of couples are currently in a legally recognized relationship.

 Same-sex couples prefer marriage over civil unions or registered domestic partnerships, even when these statuses extend almost all of the rights and obligations of marriage under state law. An average of 30% of same-sex couples married in the first year that their state allowed them to marry, while only 18% entered into civil unions or broad domestic partnerships in the first year states offered these statuses. Furthermore, only 8% entered into limited domestic partnerships, reciprocal beneficiary relationships, or other limited statuses in the first year states offered those statuses, which extend a smaller subset of the rights and obligations of marriage.

 Nine states and the District of Columbia currently allow different-sex couples to enter into a non-marital form of legal recognition. In these states, different-sex couples clearly prefer marriage. For example, in three states where all adult different-sex unmarried couples can enter civil unions, just over 1% of these couples have elected to do so. Non-marital forms of legal recognition seem to be in highest demand among those different-sex couples where at least one member is age 62 or older.

 Same-sex couples can marry in six states and the District of Columbia. In the three states that track residency among same-sex couples who marry, those states report that 60% of same-sex couples marrying are from other states. The states that contribute the most out-of-state couples are those with large populations (such as Texas, New York, and Florida) and those in close proximity to the state allowing same-sex couples to marry.

 Women are more likely to marry or formalize their relationships by entering an alternative legal status than are men. In eight states that provided us data by gender, 62% of same-sex couples who sought legal recognition were female couples.

 Same-sex couples who marry or enter other legal recognition statuses tend to be younger than the general population of married different-sex couples in those states. However, when one compares same-sex and different-sex couples who are newly married, newly-married same-sex couples tend to be older than newly-married different-sex couples.

 If current trends hold, the marriage rate of same-sex couples in Massachusetts eventually will reach parity with the marriage rate of different-sex couples in Massachusetts by 2013.

babel wrote:gay couples getting married have disproportionately a lot more couples who've been together for eons and, when gay marriage is allowed, decide to get married. These couples have proven to suit each other well and are more likely to have a lasting marriage.

What is the nature of same-sex relationships?

Research indicates that many lesbians and gay men want and have committed relationships. For example, survey data indicate that between 40% and 60% of gay men and between 45% and 80% of lesbians are currently involved in a romantic relationship. Further, data from the 2000 U.S. Census indicate that of the 5.5 million couples who were living together but not married, about 1 in 9 (594,391) had partners of the same sex. Although the census data are almost certainly an underestimate of the actual number of cohabiting same-sex couples, they indicate that there are 301,026 male samesex households and 293,365 female same-sex households in the United States.

Stereotypes about lesbian, gay, and bisexual people have persisted, even though studies have found them to be misleading. For instance, one stereotype is that the relationships of lesbians and gay men are dysfunctional and unhappy. However, studies have found same-sex and heterosexual couples to be equivalent to each other on measures of relationship satisfaction and commitment.

A second stereotype is that the relationships of lesbians, gay men and bisexual people are unstable. However, despite social hostility toward same-sex relationships, research shows that many lesbians and gay men form durable relationships. For example, survey data indicate that between 18% and 28% of gay couples and between 8% and 21% of lesbian couples have lived together 10 or more years. It is also reasonable to suggest that the stability of same-sex couples might be enhanced if partners from same-sex couples enjoyed the same levels of support and recognition for their relationships as heterosexual couples do, i.e., legal rights and responsibilities associated with marriage.

Pulsar wrote:The stats for Belgium in the period 2003-2012, are:

10585 same-sex marriages (5669 between men, 4916 between women)
1226 divorces (517 between men, 709 between women)

babel wrote:gay couples getting married have disproportionately a lot more couples who've been together for eons and, when gay marriage is allowed, decide to get married. These couples have proven to suit each other well and are more likely to have a lasting marriage.

Shrunk wrote:My guess is that marriage remains less of an assumed decision for gays than for straights. That is, it is practically assumed as the default option that a straight person will get married, whereas that is less the case for gays. So those gays who do marry are going to be selected from those who are more committed to the idea of marriage.

Adco wrote:I was pondering this the other day. What is the divorce rate for gay marriages compared to hetrosexual marriages?

It appears that hetro marriages are not all that strong with the high divorce rates in my country. I don't have exact stats but it looks as if it sits at about 50%. My source is this; half of the couple I know are divorced. I am one of them.

So, I was wondering, do gay marriages last longer and have a better chance of survival because of various factors that I am not aware of? I have not heard of or met a gay couple that have divorced. I must admit that I don't know many gay couples so that might be the reason I haven't heard about it.

colubridae wrote:

Adco wrote:I was pondering this the other day. What is the divorce rate for gay marriages compared to hetrosexual marriages?

It appears that hetro marriages are not all that strong with the high divorce rates in my country. I don't have exact stats but it looks as if it sits at about 50%. My source is this; half of the couple I know are divorced. I am one of them.

So, I was wondering, do gay marriages last longer and have a better chance of survival because of various factors that I am not aware of? I have not heard of or met a gay couple that have divorced. I must admit that I don't know many gay couples so that might be the reason I haven't heard about it.

Even if there is a difference (viz homo- more than hetero- or homo- less than hetero-), so what? Makes no never mind.