Correlation Between Same-Sex Marriage Laws and Divorce Rates

With the passing of New York’s new same-sex marriage, set to go in effect on July 24, many are wondering how this will affect the state’s same-sex divorce rate. As reported by U.S. News today, data reveals that divorce rates that are lower than average in states that recognize or perform gay marriage.

Data from the Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control’s National Vital Statistics System, shows that in states that perform or recognize gay marriages, in 2009 the number of divorces made up 41.2 percent of the number of marriages. This number was slightly higher, at 50.3 percent, for the 36 other states during that year. The data shows a correlation and not a causal relationship. Two other variables that may also play a role in divorce rate are one’s marriage age and level of education.

A senior writer at the Pew Research Center, D’Vera Cohn, explains “From what I understand from the research, people who take the time and have the discipline to complete a college degree or more advanced education—those personality traits are also useful in sustaining a marriage.” Census data also shows a relationship between older marriage age, liberal views on same-sex marriage and low divorce rates.

According to Cary Gates, Williams Distinguished Scholar at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, while the correlation certainly points us in the right direction, “there are just not enough [same-sex] couples to really alter broad statistics about marriage and divorce.”

You can read the full article here at U.S. News.