For LGBT individuals and same-sex couples, their children, and the general U.S. population, the benefits of access to legal marriage for same-sex couples are unambiguously positive," says the study by the RAND Corp.
State-level rates of syphilis, HIV, and AIDS fell significantly; same-sex households in those states experienced more-stable relationships, higher earnings, and higher rates of homeownership; and sexual orientation-motivated hate crimes and employment discrimination against LGBT individuals declined.
Children of same-sex couples benefited when their parents were granted access to legal marriage, and state-level adoption rates rose after marriage became legal for same-sex couples.
There was 'no evidence for a retreat from marriage,' the study notes. 'New marriages increased by 1 percent to 2 percent among different-sex couples and about 10 percent overall,' it says, and there was 'no consistent evidence' that cohabitation increased among unmarried different-sex couples or that divorces increased as a result of marriage equality.
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