150K Gay Couples Check 'Married' on Census

Same-sex couples say knot tied, even in states where it can't be
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 22, 2009 8:32 AM CDT
150K Gay Couples Check 'Married' on Census
Keith Toney and Al Toney III in Cambridge, Mass., Friday, June 19, 2009.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Nearly 150,000 same-sex couples reported being in marriages last year, many more than the number of actual weddings and civil unions, according to the first US census figures released on same-sex marriages. About 27% of the estimated 564,743 total gay couples in the US said they were in a relationship akin to "husband" and "wife," compared with 91% of the 61.3 million total opposite-sex couples who reported being married.

There were roughly 100,000 official same-sex weddings, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in 2008. Analysts said the disparities are probably a reflection of same-sex couples in committed relationships who would get married if they could in their states. Same-sex spouses were reported in every state. "Gay couples are getting married or in committed relationships, and we are out here," said one gay man, who listed himself as "married" even though his plans were derailed by Proposition 8.
(More gay marriage stories.)

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