Gay Marriage Improves Straight Marriage?

Contrary to what anti-gay marriage advocates propose, that allowing gay marriage will harm or destroy traditional marriage, gay-marriage has actually improved traditional marriage. LinkAnti-gay advocates proposed the test:

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"We can look at those places where same-sex marriage has been legalized to see what the future looks like" - Ron Crews, President of The Massachusetts Family Institute, as quoted in the Washington Times, March 10, 2004

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"Dear Friends, I write to you today with a profound sense of concern...Barring a miracle, the family as it has been known for more than five millennia will crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself.....

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For more than 40 years, the homosexual activist movement has sought to implement a master plan that has had as its centerpiece the utter destruction of the family." - Dr. James Dobson of Focus on The Family, in a July 2004 letter to supporters

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Here are the results of the test:

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In 2004 the Massachusetts divorce rate, at 2.2 per 1,000 residents per year, was considerably lower than the US national average rate for that year, 3.8 per 1,000. Indeed, it was lower than the national average rate for 1950 (2.6 per 1,000) and even approached the national rate of 1940 (2 per 1,000).

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In 2003, total divorces in Massachusetts declined 2.1% relative to 2002. But in the first two years of legal same sex marriage in the Bay State, Massachusetts showed a more rapid decline and will very likely hold on to its title as the US state with the lowest divorce rate in the nation.

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Also the states that have passed anti-gay marriage laws have seen their divorces rates go up:

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Among those US states that are most opposed to same sex marriage which have also provided divorce data for the time period -- AR, KS, KY, MI, MS, MO, NE, NV, ND, OH, OK, OR, UT, TX -- the average divorce rate ( unadjusted for population changes ) for 2004 and the first 11 months of 2005 increased 1.75%.

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I personally don't think that this study really shows gay marriage has had any impact on divorce rates in Massachusettes or elsewhere. It is funny though that seemingly the exact opposite of what anti-gay marriage advocates predicted has occurred.Edited by Clark, : oops, forgot link.

Of course it could be a result of some other factors common to the different states, ...... like an atmosphere of {religious\philosophical\social} tolerance, freedom and understanding in MA versus a growing {hardcore religious} intolerance, dictating what others should (or should not) do and refusal to understand the positions of others -- the same kinds of things that make for distinctions between good and bad marriages ....Just a thought ...

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand

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RebelAAmericanOZen[Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

It has been the case for quite a few years now that, among various religious groups, the highest divorce rates are to be found among the most strict, conservative Christians, and the lowest are found among Catholics, liberal Jews, and Athiests and Agnostics.

it's probably due to the fact that more concervative christians seem to cling to that 'wives be subservient' bullshit.

or the "I'm right, I know I'm right and you can't tell me different" attitude.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand

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RebelAAmericanOZen[Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

Agreed, successful marriages require compromise. The relationship between fundamentalism and authoritarianism as expressed in self-righteous dogmatism makes compromise more difficult.
Therefore the correlation between allowing gay marriage and less divorce is most likely due to increased tolerance of differences in general rather than a cause and effect relationship.

i quite agree.

I dont think anyone should jump to conclusions on acount of statistical evidence (like the pirate vs. temp chart). I'm for gay marriage, but to go from: to: is a bit too much. All the statistics say is that there is a non random corralation - not nessaserily direct.{this is a general message}

Or maybe the devil has no reason to attack someone who doesn't believe in Christ.

oh so there are no christians in massachusettes and therefore they have great marriages because being a christian inherently makes your life difficult? oh that's great advertising. i though follow jesus' rules was supposed to make your life better?or is it that the fundies just have an excuse for having bad marriages... the devil made me do it. i didn't want to beat my wife, but the devil tempted me and then she left me because she was a bad christian and not willing to work it out.Edited by brennakimi, : No reason given.

So the devil works at the granularity of a state? So is that why the Bible belt is also tornado alley? It is the devil testing all the Christians?

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Of course, biblical creationists are committed to belief in God's written Word, the Bible, which forbids bearing false witness; --AIG (lest they forget)

Where does it say that in the bible, I must have missed it. Ultimately, there are no exuses. If this is your vision of what I meant, then poor show on your part. The devil only would want to attack situations that are working out. Anytime you lose sight of God, then the devil wins.It's been my experience the more you try to do things right, the more resistance you face.

i'm sorry, but "the devil" is a cop out.

I think natural disasters have little to do with how people behave. It is what we do in those situations that count. Read job.There are many reasons why bad things happen to believers and non-believers. Whether it is the devil, your own personal sinful desires, or God putting you through tribulations, I have found that they all lead me to God.Give me a valid reason why Christian divorce rate is higher than all others.

It is not supposed to be a cop out, or an escape from your responsibilities. It ust is, what is. Sometimes we allow the devil by our own actions, sometimes God allows it, either way we are responsible for our decisions.Pretending he dosn't exist, allows him to win. Jesus resisted him, then so should we. Being aware is our biggest weapon against him, turning to God for help is how we defeat him.People who get divorces maybe don't practice what they preach, but maybe they shouldn't have got married in the first place. Maybe if they had closer relationships with God, from the get go, then divorce wouldn't be as much as a problem with Christians.