The past couple of years have been a real rollercoaster for gay marriage!  There were high points---early in 2008 our own community here in the Rochester area took center stage with a court decision, in favor of a local couple, ruling that legal out-of-state marriages should be recognized by New York state…followed closely by an executive order from our governor indicating that state agencies should start recognizing these marriages. In addition, during this time California & Connecticut joined Massachusetts in granting same-sex marriages, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine this Spring in 2009. There were, however, also low points in the battle for marriage equality---beginning locally with Maggie Brooks staging an effort to appeal the court’s decision and followed more recently by some devastating gay marriage losses…most notably first, the passage of “Prop 8,” which was upheld this May in California, rescinding right of same-sex couples there to marry legally. And here in New York, the fight for gay marriage continues after the recent chaos in New York’s state government this summer.

    The debate around marriage has certainly galvanized many queer people and their allies---and raised important issues of equality & justice for our community.  As this issue cuts so close to home for so many in our community, let's address it from an angle we haven’t heard nearly enough about:  marriage as a HEALTH issue.  There have been multiple studies over the years demonstrating that marriage makes people healthier---but those studies have focused exclusively on heterosexual marriages. Certainly marriage could be an important civil right for queer people…but one must wonder…does it also impact our health? A report released by the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) in September of this year explores this question…and the conclusion they came to is YES, it absolutely can. 

The GLMA report, along with other marriage advocates, has raised a number of compelling points regarding how gay marriage can be framed as a community health issue.  Some of these points are quoted below:

·    The denial of marriage equality is a clear form of discrimination---and discrimination is linked to negative impacts on health and well-being.  It is linked to a decreased sense of personal growth, lower self-acceptance and esteem, and decreased quality of life.  These realities can lead to a host of health issues---psychological distress, mood & anxiety problems, poor sexual decision-making, and substance use just to name a few.

·    People of all orientations who are involved in legitimized relationships, such as legal marriages, report more emotional support and are more likely to have a close confidant in life---and that level of emotional support is directly associated with health and well-being and provides protection against the negative health consequences of stress.

·    A report published in 2006 concluded that legal marriages benefit the children of same-sex couples by strengthening family and fostering financial and legal security, psychosocial stability, and an augmented sense of societal acceptance and support.

·    Gay marriage can help promote health in aging LGBT people by expanding access to Social Security as a couple, legal rights of survivorship & inheritance, and access to health needs associated with aging (i.e. nursing homes & retirement communities, recognition as a couple in healthcare settings, etc.)

·    Gay marriage would prevent discrimination in healthcare settings by enacting the same recognition for same-sex couples as heterosexual couples when it comes to visitation rights, and medical decision-making.

·    Gay marriage will serve, for many, as an avenue to accessing health insurance and benefits---the absence of which is a fundamental barrier to adequate healthcare in our country.

Now, certainly marriage is not for everyone…and we should never assume that all people, gay or straight, want or need marriage in order to be healthy.  However, it’s clear that for some this is not only an issue of civil rights and equality, but is an important issue that can influence well-being and overall health.