Posted on 05/20/2007 7:37:42 AM PDT by Incorrigible
By DAN RING
BOSTON — As people marked the third anniversary of same-sex marriage this week, the state released statistics showing the number of gay marriages has dropped sharply since 2004.
According to the state Department of Public Health, 6,121 gay couples married in the first seven months after gay marriage became legal on May 17, 2004.
In 2005, 2,060 gay couples married, and in 2006, the number declined to 1,427, down 31 percent from 2005.
During this year through April 26, only 87 gay couples have tied the knot.
Patricia S. Griffin, of Belchertown, Mass., a retired professor from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who married her longtime partner on July 10, 2004, said it makes sense that most gay people would marry in the first year. When a right is denied and then suddenly granted, people tend to take advantage of it, she said.
"People are now getting married at a more normal rate,'' said Griffin, who is married to Kathleen Neal, a public school teacher in Amherst. "It's kind of settled down.''
The statistics also show that 9,695 gay couples have married in this state. Of that total, 6,209 marriages, or 64 percent, consist of women.
Kristian M. Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute in Newton, said that if there's such a great need for same-sex marriage, then the number of married gay couples should be increasing.
"The numbers are relatively small and dwindling rapidly,'' Mineau said. "The actual institution of marriage is not being sought after by the gay community.''
Hundreds of supporters were set to celebrate the third anniversary Thursday night at a party in Boston.
"It's an historical marker,'' said Marc Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, which sponsored the party. "We've come a long way in a few years. More than 9,000 couples are married. It's been important for them, their kids and their families.''
The state Supreme Judicial Court, voting 4-3, legalized gay marriage in November 2003.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick, a strong supporter of gay marriage, proclaimed May 17, 2007, as "Marriage Equality Day.''
Patrick opposes a move to put a question on the 2008 statewide ballot that, if approved by voters, would ban future gay marriages.
Legislators are scheduled to vote on June 14 on whether to place on the ballot in 2008 a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
For the proposal to go to voters, at least 50 of 200 legislators must vote to place the amendment on the ballot during two straight legislative sessions.
Sixty-two legislators voted to put the amendment on the 2008 ballot during a meeting on Jan. 2, the last day of the 2005-06 session.
Patrick, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, and Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, are pushing to persuade legislators to vote against placing the proposed question on the ballot. "Are you ready to win?'' Patrick asked supporters of gay marriage at a press conference Thursday.
Mineau said 57 legislators are currently committed to voting to place the proposal on the ballot, adding he remains confident. "We have no indication of anyone changing their vote,'' he said.
(Dan Ring is a staff writer for The Republican of Springfield, Mass. He can be contacted at dring(at)repub.com.)
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ditto
That is what is so unfortunate. People accept things that even causal reflection and common sense should dismiss. It isn’t even that I believe we need to actively suppress homosexuality. I just believe that it should not be encourage and that for those who desire help get it without the politicized effort to gloss over the real problems and dysfunction of it.
**Gay Marriages Down In Only State To Allow Them**
There’s a message here, folks!
I no longer have the link, but this was once posted on Free Republic. I can get the sources if you need them, and there is plenty more information about the level of committment in homosexual relationships in this source. Note, this is before Massachusetts legalized same sex marriage, but the trends follow in Massachusetts as they do in these locations.
LEVEL OF COMMITMENT IN HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
If homosexuals and lesbians truly desired the same kind of commitment signified by marriage, then one would expect them to take advantage of the opportunity to enter into civil unions or registered partnerships, which grant them legal recognition as well as the legal rights of marriage. However, surprisingly few homosexuals and lesbians choose to enter into such legally recognized unions where such arrangements are available, indicating that such couples do not share the same view of commitment as typified by married couples.
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.
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."
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]
Conclusion: Level of Relationship Commitment Among Homosexuals
Data from Vermont, Sweden, and the Netherlands reveal that only a small percentage of homosexuals and lesbians identify themselves as being in a committed relationship, with even fewer taking advantage of civil unions or, in the case of the Netherlands, of same-sex "marriage." This indicates that even in the most "gay friendly" localities, the vast majority of homosexuals and lesbians display little inclination for the kind of lifelong, committed relationships that they purport to desire to enter.
In the homo sub-culture, less than five parters a week is monogamy.
Too bad they use “anniversary” and “homosexual marriage” in the same sentence.
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