Written: 12/30/2011
Did you know that when marriage equality is enacted, it’s better for gay men.Ā Who would have guessed:
Legalising same-sex marriage may create a healthier environment for gay men, say US researchers. The number of visits by gay men to health clinics dropped significantly after same-sex unions were allowed in the state Massachusetts. This was regardless of whether the men were in a stable relationship, reported the American Journal of Public Health…. Research has already suggested that gay men are more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts than heterosexual men, and that social exclusion may be partly responsible…. Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler, who led the study, said: “Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men “Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions.”
If the government really wants to make things better for society, we need marriage equality.
Or if we just want an economic boost, like Iowa has seen:
sinceĀ Iowa extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2009, the resulting spending on wedding arrangements and tourism provided an additional $12 to $13 million to the state and local economy.
And cities more accepting and welcoming tend to be more fun, be better places to live and have wealthier inhabitants (although these are probably correlations, not causations):
But it gets more interesting when we piece together other data about our nationās gayest cities. District of Columbia, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Denver rank in the top 25 for the most educated cities in the country, and District of Columbia, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Minneapolis all landed on the highest earners list as well.
And is it surprising that out of the gayest cities, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis and Denver were voted in the top 20 for most fun in the country? I think not. On the downside, Atlanta and Minneapolis earned spots on the most dangerous cities list for their high crime rates.
All my best,
The King of Spades
