Gays Destroying Marriage? That's not what UK Statistics say
Filed by: Waymon Hudson
August 9, 2008 4:30 PM
We all know the old fundie refrain about how "gays are destroying marriage." Of course, this comes from hypocritical people who cheat on their wives, are raging closet cases, or are working their way through marriage #3.
Well, a report out of the UK should put some of that talk to rest.
The UK's Pink News has an interesting article up about how less than 1% of civil partnerships end in 'divorce'. In the past three years since same-sex couples gained the right to legalize their relationships there were 24,629 civil partnerships in England and Wales. Out of those, only 250 lesbian and gay civil partnerships have ended in dissolution.
Compare this to the statistics on hetero couples:
Divorce rates in 2005 suggest that approximately 45 per cent of marriages will end in divorce. Almost half these divorces will occur before couples reach their tenth anniversary.
Perhaps it is the fact that many of first couples to get hitched are long term relationships. It could also be the fact that LGBT couples, having fought for the right, take the union more seriously.
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said in the article:
This is a small number and it confirms that many people entering into civil partnerships take it very seriously indeed. Certainly there is no credible evidence that lesbian and gay people do not live in stable relationships.
Whatever the reason, it seems to poke holes in the ridiculous argument that we are destroying marriages by gaining relationship recognition. It would actually seem the opposite- that LGBT people are actually strengthening what has become a failing institution.
Share
Like what you read? Subscribe to The Bilerico Project by Email.
Want others to read it too? Use the buttons and links here to share this entry with others. (Move your cursor over a button or link to learn more about it.)
3 Comments
Maybe we should ban opposite-sex marriage since they obviously don't respect the sanctity of the institution... *grins*
Bil Browning | August 10, 2008 8:25 AM
Reply to this comment
Wait... I don't really see what's wrong with getting divorced, or why it shows that the institution is failing of that heterosexuals don't take marriage seriously. Most people who get divorced do it because they need to - it's a time for personal growth, to realize that a relationship isn't working anymore, and, for many battered spouses, a means of self-defense.
The Religious Right is against divorce and if they could ban it, they would. They just know that the support for that is around zero, so they don't even try. But I'm just sayin', they agree that divorce is destroying marriage-as-an-institution, which is just not true; it's made the institution viable in a modern world where marriage means something other than buying a woman to perform slave labor for a man.
Alex Blaze | August 11, 2008 6:17 AM
Reply to this comment
I'm not saying divorce is bad at all. I'm saying that the argument from the religious right that "gays weaken marriage" as an institution is false, which these statistics seem to show. Whatever your view about the institution of marriage or civil partnerships, it is clear that gays and lesbians are not doing it “harm”, as fundies like to claim. I’m just pointing out the hypocrisy of the right, not making a statement on divorce.
And I don't think that the Religious Right would ban divorce if they could. That's a lot of big talk on their part. They know it will never happen, so they throw it out as a talking point. But if push came to shove, they would never take that option away from themselves.
Waymon Hudson | August 11, 2008 9:03 AM
Reply to this comment