Social conservatives have been make dire predictions about how same sex marriage will ruin traditional marriage if it’s allowed. So, what’s happening in Massachusetts, where same sex marriage has been allowed for 5 years?
Actually, the “experiment” has been running in Massachusetts for fully 1/2 decade now. Over three years ago I wrote a story, “Christian Right Wrong on Gay Marriage”, summing up the apparent non-impact of the then-2 year “experiment”. Now, we have 4 consecutive years of data. According to the most recent data from the National Center For Vital Statistics, Massachusetts retains the national title as the lowest divorce rate state, and the MA divorce rate is about where the US divorce rate was in 1940, prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor that triggered the US entrance into World War Two.
Provisional data from 2008 indicates that the Massachusetts divorce rate has dropped from 2.3 per thousand in 2007 down to about 2.0 per thousand for 2008. What does that mean ? To get a sense of perspective consider that the last time the US national divorce rate was 2.0 per thousand (people) was 1940. You read that correctly. The Massachusetts divorce rate is now at about where the US divorce rate was the year before the United States entered World War Two.
So you’re telling me that seeing two men or two women in a committed relationship doesn’t cause people to divorce? Next they’re going to tell me that being gay is just how someone is born and has nothing to do with a lifestyle choice. However will we explain this to the children?