Gay Marriage Makes Us Healthier, Study Says
By: Christopher Donaldson
12.20.2011
Let’s face it; waiting for the world to change is making us sick.
Yes, we could pop pills more often—or we could move to one of six states that support full marriage equality rights, according to a new study published in The American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers from Columbia University surveyed more than 1,200 patients (all of them gay men) and their billing statements at a large Massachusetts health clinic 12 months before and after the state legalized same-sex marriage in 2004.
As it turns out, man-on-man matrimony makes us healthier: After same-sex marriage equality passed, researchers saw a 13 percent decrease in doctor visits and a 14 percent decrease in health care costs among gay and bisexual men, particularly for those who reported high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and sexually transmitted diseases.
“What we are saying is that when you legalize same-sex marriage it kind of changes the social environment around gays and lesbians,” lead author Mark Hatzenbuehler said in a news release, as reported by MSNBC. “And that reduces social stigma and stress that has downstream health consequences.”
More and more, America is finding homophobia difficult to explain. Thanks a lot, science!
Read the full article here.
