Same-Sex Weddings Haven't Harmed Straight Marriage, Study Shows
a new report from nonprofit research organization RAND and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Legalizing same-sex marriage has also resulted in several positive impacts on society; these include improved physical health of LGBTQ+ individuals in those states, fewer hate crimes, and increased state-level adoption rates after marriage."Some of those who opposed the granting of marriage rights to same-sex couples predicted that doing so would undermine the institution of marriage, resulting in fewer couples marrying, more couples divorcing and an overall retreat from family formation," study co-author Benjamin R.
Karney, a UCLA psychology professor and adjunct researcher at RAND, said in a statement. "Overall, the fears of opponents of same-sex marriage simply have not come to pass."Before nationwide legalization, the legal status of same-sex marriage in the U.S.
varied significantly by state. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2004, following a state Supreme Court ruling.
Over the next decade, several other states followed suit, either through court decisions, legislative action, or voter referendums.
