Sociology Now, Census Update

3.They are less likely to have children.Fifty-nine percent of married couples ver-

sus 22 percent of lesbian couples and 5 percent of gay male couples are living

with children of their own. Most are the products of previous heterosexual mar-

riages, although artificial insemination and adoption are increasingly common.

4.They are less likely to own their own homes than married couples.

5.They tend to be more egalitarian.They are more likely to share decision making

and allot housework more equally than married couples and have less conflict as

a result (Allen and Demo, 1995; Carrington, 2002).

And they are not permitted to marry in the United States. As of 2006,

26 states had a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to one man

and one women, 19 states had a law (not affecting their constitution)

restricting marriage to a man and a woman, and the United States is debat-

ing a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (HRC, 2007).

Nineteen states have constitutional amendments that bar gay or lesbian

couples from emergency health care, inheritance, and more than 1,000

other rights that heterosexual couples enjoy (HRC, 2007). As of mid-

2007, five states provided the equivalent of state-level spousal rights to

gay couples and three states plus Washington, D.C., provided some

statewide spousal rights (Figure 12.4).

However, reserving marriage and domestic partnerships to men and

women applies only in the United States. As of this writing, same-sex cou-

ples can marry or enter into civil partnerships with the same rights as het-

erosexual couples in most European countries and can enter into civil

partnerships with most of the same rights as heterosexual couples in nine

others, including Brazil, France, Israel, South Africa, and Switzerland.

400 CHAPTER 12THE FAMILY

Racial and Ethnic Family Diversity

Interracial marriage was illegal in the United States until relatively recently. In 1967, the Supreme

Court decided that marriage was legal between any consenting unmarried man and unmarried

woman, regardless of race. Still, the general population is often uncomfortable with the idea.

Interracial couples are still frequently the targets of hate crimes and discrimination. Although

there are more and more interracial children in the United States, they are mostly White–Asian,

White–Hispanic, or some combination other than White–Black. So, what do you think?

12.1

What

do

you

think

Do you think there should be laws against marriages between Blacks and Whites?

❍Yes

❍No

For the following statement, please choose the answer that best reflects your personal opinion

at this time.

?

Latin Americans are more tolerant of gay

and lesbian families than North Americans

are. No Latin American country has explicit

prohibitions against gay and lesbian

adoptions such as those in many European

countries and parts of the United States.

Many judges in Latin America have already

granted adoptions to lesbian and gay

citizens. Clinics and doctors in many Latin

American countries have been providing

access to assisted reproduction to lesbians

since the 1990s (Sarda, 2000).

Didyouknow

?