Contacts:
Lee Badgett 413-577-0145 badgett@iglss.org
Brad Sears 310-794-5279 sears@law.ucla.edu

Allowing same-sex couples to marry would save the federal government nearly $1 billion per year

New Congressional Budget Office Report Confirms IGLSS-UCLA Studies

Amherst, MA---The Congressional Budget Office reported yesterday that allowing same-sex couples to marry would have a positive impact on the federal budget. The report confirms recent findings from state-level studies conducted by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) and the Williams Project at UCLA Law School.

The Congressional Budget Office found that allowing same-sex couples to marry would boost federal income tax revenues by $400 million per year til the end of this decade, mainly because of the so-called “marriage penalty.” Social security payments would rise over time, as would spending on spousal health insurance benefits for federal workers. Other expenditure items would be much lower, however, since spending on Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would fall. The net impact would be a federal budget savings of nearly $1 billion per year.

These findings parallel the conclusions of recent studies that were conducted by IGLSS and the Williams Project about the impact of granting marriage and domestic partnership rights at the state level. The most recent study showed that California would have a net savings of $22-25 million per year if same-sex couples could marry. A 2003 study of New Jersey’s Domestic Partnership Act, which goes into effect in July, predicts that the state is likely to see a net savings of $61 million per year by giving same-sex couples rights.

“The CBO report adds to the growing weight of studies showing that same-sex marriage makes sense from an economic perspective,” noted economist M. V. Lee Badgett of IGLSS and the University of Massachusetts, who has authored or co-authored five reports on the fiscal impact of same-sex marriage. “Although most attention has focused on the benefits of marriage, this report reminds us that marriage involves responsibilities, too. Strengthening same-sex couples’ legal standing will reduce demands on federal and state budgets.”

“Rather than relying on stereotypes about gay and lesbian couples, the CBO used the best data available on same-sex couples from Census 2000 to calculate their estimates,” stated Brad Sears, the executive director of UCLA’s Williams Project and a co-author of the studies in California and New Jersey. “Applying the Census figures to individual states’ budgets would show many millions more in savings if same-sex couples could marry.”

The CBO study, which was requested by Congressperson Steve Chabot, is available at www.cbo.gov. The IGLSS-Williams Project studies are available at www.iglss.org and www1.law.ucla.edu/~williamsproj/home.html.

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Contact: Glenda Russell russell@iglss.org 413-577-0145 June 3, 2004
Amherst, MA

Study finds that ballot questions on gay marriage rights will be harmful to communities

This fall voters in a number of states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah, will go to the polls to vote on whether same-sex couples should be denied equal marriage rights. A new report shows that these elections may carry significant negative psychological and social consequences for local residents and for the community at large. Research compiled by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) finds that referenda can affect the lives of both gay/lesbian/bisexual and heterosexual people in several ways.

The report finds that referenda on same-sex marriage can lead to serious negative psychological consequences for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. According to Glenda Russell, the author of the report and the Acting Executive Director of IGLSS, “These elections create high levels of psychological and social stress for many LGBT individuals as well as for the children of lesbian and gay families.” Studies have demonstrated that these elections can lead to increased anxiety, depression, alienation, and isolation in LGBT people.

Earlier ballot measures on same-sex marriage and other gay-related issues frequently resulted in divided communities, with hostile rhetoric a mainstay of such campaigns. The political fight often reinvigorated old stereotypes and led to deep divisions within families and communities. Lee Badgett, research director of IGLSS, notes, “These research findings indicate that states may pay a heavy social price for putting the rights of any group up for a vote.”

In addition to the states already scheduling votes for the fall, legislators in some other states (such as Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon) are still considering a referendum on marriage. “Legislators should look at the big picture. While a referendum sounds democratic, putting marriage rights to a vote runs some big risks,” concluded Russell.

In addition, political science research indicates that voting on rights for minority groups tends to increase prejudices that divide members of the community. These elections also allow majority rule to make decisions that have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of people who are not the majority.

Data for the report were drawn gathered from a variety of sources including surveys, interviews, analyses of campaign materials, mental health indices, and other research strategies. The report, “The Dangers of a Same-Sex Marriage Referendum for Community and Individual Well-Being,” compiles and analyzes results of roughly 30 studies and accounts of referenda on gay issues in eight states. Dr. Russell was lead investigator on several of these studies.

The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies is a nonprofit, independent think tank based in Amherst, Massachusetts. IGLSS provides policy-oriented research on issues of importance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. All IGLSS publications are available at www.iglss.org

Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies
P.O. Box 2603
Amherst, MA 01004
413-557-0145
www.iglss.org

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PRESS RELEASE
December,10 2003
Contact:
Marc Rogers (212) 481-4284 mrogers@earthlink.net
Daley Dunham (510) 847-7579 daleyd@comcast.net

New Study Shows Requiring Equal Benefits Results in Equality at Low Cost Employer Costs Increase Only About One-Tenth of One Percent; SF Costs Low

Amherst, MA--The San Francisco Equal Benefits Ordinance advanced the equal treatment of employees with domestic partners with a minimum of red tape and costs to the city, according to “Contracts with Equality,” an evaluation released today by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS). The Equal Benefits Ordinance, a groundbreaking law that went into effect in 1997, requires city contractors to offer equal benefits to employees with domestic partners if the company provides benefits to spouses.

More than 3,000 employers have begun offering domestic partner benefits as a result of the Equal Benefits Ordinance. The report estimates that at least 26,000 additional people have health insurance coverage as a result.

“Many people expected the ordinance to drive up the city’s cost of doing business dramatically, but our analysis suggests that employer costs passed through to the city would rise by no more than 0.02% to 0.12%,” noted Daley Dunham, one of the report’s authors. “Overall, we found no evidence of a large increase in the city’s spending on goods and services.”

The report analyzes several sources of data, including detailed spending data from the San Francisco International Airport before and after implementation of the EBO. Dunham found no evidence of a large increase in costs in the airport data, even in comparison with other airports in the Los Angeles area that did not operate under an EBO requirement. The airport finding suggests that any increase in total city expenditures were not large.

Dr. Marc Rogers, the other author, added, "Increased expenditures are just one side of the equation. The City probably also saved some money due to lower public health expenditures, since more residents got health coverage.”

After the initial passage of the EBO, the City’s Human Rights Commission processed a huge amount of paperwork by streamlining some procedures, and an initial backlog quickly disappeared. Rogers also noted, “San Francisco’s accommodating approach to rules and procedures gave employers and the City the flexibility they needed to comply with the new rules."

“Other cities considering their own equal benefits ordinances can learn from the San Francisco experience,” suggested Lee Badgett, IGLSS research director. “This report shows that San Francisco has already addressed costly legal and logistical challenges, such as winning victories in court and increasing the number of health insurance plans that will cover partners."

Los Angeles, Seattle, Berkeley, Oakland, and the State of California have passed similar contractor requirements. Atlanta and New York City are also considering such a change.

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PRESS RELEASE
March 12, 2003
Contact: Glenda Russell at 413.577.0145 or russell@iglss.org

New Study Shows Newspaper Coverage of Priest Scandal Reinforces Anti-Gay Stereotypes

Amherst, MA: Prominent media coverage of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals has reinforced inaccurate and misleading stereotypes of gay men as child abusers. That was the conclusion of a study released today by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS).

The report, entitled Subtle Stereotyping: The Media, Homosexuality, and the Priest Sexual Abuse Scandal, analyzed the content of 1,326 news articles reported in the Boston Globe during the first year of the scandal. Throughout the year?s coverage, Globe readers were exposed to an average of two articles per week that linked homosexuality and child sexual abuse.

The study?s authors, psychologists Glenda Russell and Nancy Kelly, suggest that the Globe\'s linkages between homosexuality and child sexual abuse were not necessarily intentional. However, as Russell adds, "Linkages don't have to be intentional to be harmful. The stereotype of gay-man-as-pedophile gets used in many policy contexts to justify discrimination and violence against gay people." In their study, Russell and Kelly separately applied a research technique designed to study implicit messages in written material. The two authors' independent analyses of the articles were in agreement more than 95% of the time.

"When Catholic Church spokespeople began to place the blame for the abuse explicitly on gay priests," points out Russell, acting executive director of IGLSS, the Globe reporters often, but not always, directly refuted those claims. Independent social science research is quite clear that gay men are not more likely to commit child sexual abuse than non-gay men.

More subtle or indirect conflations of homosexuality and child sexual abuse occurred more frequently and were rarely challenged within articles. As an example, Russell noted an article that describes several incidents of priests abusing children, yet begins with a description of a sexual encounter between two adult men. Placing stories of the scandal alongside descriptions of other inappropriate behaviors and emphasizing the victims' sex also help to create a misleading association between homosexuality and abuse, according to the report.

Before news of the Catholic Church scandal broke, public perceptions of gay men as pedophiles had begun to fade, the authors note. When news media reopen old and unsupported stereotypes, they may inadvertently renew the use of such misinformation. Therefore, the report argues that journalists and editors have a responsibility to become more aware how they contribute to stereotyping.

The report concludes with recommendations for media professionals who wish to ensure accurate and fair coverage of the ongoing scandal. Recommendations include reporting on the stereotype itself, exercising greater vigilance to eliminate indirect conflations, and consulting with communication specialists.

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PRESS RELEASE
March 27, 2003
Contact: Lee Badgett – 413.545.0519 / R. Bradley Sears 310.794.5279

Study Finds AB 205 Boosts CA Budget by $8 - $10 Million; Appropriations Committee Votes Tomorrow

STUDY FINDS CALIFORNIA'S DOMESTIC PARTNER LEGISLATION WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON STATE BUDGET

Los Angeles, CA -- Today two of the nation's top progressive think tanks released a study concluding that AB 205, providing same-sex couples with almost all of the same rights and obligations as spouses in civil marriage, will have a positive impact that could possibly save California millions of tax dollars. AB 205 is scheduled for a vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, May 28.

The study was produced jointly by the Williams Project of UCLA School of Law and IGLSS, the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies.  It estimates that AB 205 will have a positive savings impact of approximately $8.1 to $10 million a year on California's budget.

Primarily, the savings will be the consequence of decreasing the number of individuals eligible for means-tested state benefit programs, thereby saving the State money.  AB 205 will have this impact because it will cause the income of a person's domestic partner to be included when determining eligibility for state benefit programs.

"Even if only a small percentage of individuals living with partners register and become ineligible for public benefits," says economist and study co-author, Dr. M.V. Lee Badgett, "California is likely to reduce its expenditures on these programs by more than $11.5 million each year."

The study, entitled Equal Rights, Fiscal Responsibility, finds that AB 205 would also potentially increase sales tax revenues from tourism and decrease state income tax revenues, but will have only a minor effect on administrative costs, state employee benefits, and the state court system.

" Our analysis makes it clear that providing California families with equal rights is fiscally responsible," says the study's co-author, Brad Sears, Director of the Williams Project.  "Making domestic partners accountable to each other not only strengthens families, it has a positive impact on the State budget."

The study reaches similar results as studies done about same-sex civil union legislation for Vermont and Connecticut.

As of May 2003, approximately 20,000 couples have registered as domestic partners with the Secretary of the State of California.

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PRESS RELEASE –Embargoed til 3/10/03
March 10, 2003
Contact: Lee Badgett – 413-577-0145

U.S. Census Leaves Out Thousands of Gays and Lesbians

Amherst, MA – The U.S. Census 2000 count of same-sex couples missed at least a hundred thousand more couples, according to a study released today by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS).

Two surveys of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people show an undercount of 16 - 19% of same-sex couples, as documented in “Left Out of the Count: Missing Same-sex Couples in Census 2000.” [IGLSS, March 2003]

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who lived with a same-sex partner on April 1, 2000, could list themselves as “unmarried partners” on the official census form. IGLSS surveyed individuals in same-sex couples about their census responses at the Millennium March for gay equal rights. A second survey asked similar questions of online respondents to a Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs survey

“The people we surveyed were politically aware and were more likely to know about and use the ‘unmarried partner’ option,” according to Marc Rogers, Ph.D., one of the authors of the report. “They’re a best-case scenario, meaning the actual undercount is likely to be far higher.”

The surveys also found that more than two-thirds of the couples not using “unmarried partner” instead listed themselves as “housemates/roommates” on the census forms. When asked why they did not call themselves unmarried partners, respondents reported confidentiality concerns and a lack of fit of census options for their own family configurations.

The U.S. Census Bureau will release a report this week describing the 594,691 same-sex couples in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“Our study implies that the new census data should be interpreted carefully,” cautioned M. V. Lee Badgett, Ph.D., co-author of the IGLSS study. “We found that couples who used the unmarried partner option had higher incomes in one survey and higher levels of education in the other. So the missing couples might be very different from the couples that the Census Bureau describes.”

The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) is a non-profit, independent think tank based in Amherst, Massachusetts. IGLSS provides policy-oriented research on issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Stacy Roth, 413-577-0145

Gay Catholic Priests Wrongly Attacked by Church Hierarchy According to New Report

September 25, 2002, Amherst, MA - Catholic Church officials are wrongly accusing gay priests of child sexual abuse according to a new report released this week by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS). The report outlines decades of research demonstrating that homosexual men are no more likely than heterosexual men to force sexual activity with children.

As the sexual abuse of children has been revealed in parishes across the country, Catholic Church officials and some news reports have described the perpetrators of the abuse as gay. In the IGLSS report, "Understanding Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church: Gay Priests Are Not the Problem," the link made between pedophile priests and gay priests is debunked.

"Blaming gay priests for the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priests in the Catholic Church is unfounded,” said Michael Stevenson, the author of the IGLSS report and a professor of psychology at Ball State University. “The accusation that pedophile priests are gay has no foundation in sound psychological research and amounts to the deliberate scapegoating of gays by Church officials. This manipulative finger pointing by Catholic Church officials does not help the victims of sexual abuse. But it will hinder parishioners' attempts to respond effectively."

Stevenson also points out that, "Contrary to assumptions made at the papal summit, engaging in same-sex behavior with children is not synonymous with being gay. Misunderstanding the priests' abusive behavior will hinder efforts to prevent further crimes."
The study cites considerable confusion and even purposeful effort on the part of the Catholic Church to link sexual abuse charges against priests to homosexuality. One example cited in the IGLSS report occurred during the Papal Summit, the meeting called by the Pope to discuss this crisis.

During that meeting, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago stated, "There is a definite connection between homosexuality and sexual misconduct with minors if the conduct is with minor men...If you have an adult man having relations with an adolescent boy you’ve got homosexuality."

"A forum like the Papal Summit holds great power in the eyes of many throughout the United States and around the world,” said Stacy Roth, executive director of IGLSS. “Papal leaders should be better informed about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of their parishes and the larger world community." “Statements that link homosexuality to pedophilia are dangerous and based in misinformation that can be used to incite verbal and potentially more violent acts of harassment against gays.

The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) is a non-profit, independent think tank based in Amherst, Massachusetts. IGLSS provides policy-oriented research on issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Stacy Roth, 413-577-0145

Schools Must Move Beyond Gay-Straight Alliances

March 27, 2002, Amherst, MA - According to a new study released today by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS), lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are benefiting from the existence of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). However, they are only the beginning of what is really needed.

The IGLSS release, Going Beyond Gay-Straight Alliances to Make Schools Safe for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students is based on a study by principal investigators Drs. Pat Griffin and Mathew Ouellett. The pilot study referred to in Going Beyond Gay-Straight Alliances is part of a larger research project looking at schools participating in the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program (MSSP). The MSSP is now in its tenth year. The researchers expect the study to be used nationally by advocates, school personnel and others who seek to have formal safe schools programs implemented in states outside Massachusetts. Griffin and Ouellet are faculty and adjunct lecturer, respectively, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Although several states have voluntary school and community-based GSAs, Massachusetts was the first to create a Safe Schools Program and is the only state to include funding.

ãWith this study, IGLSS has substantiated the role that Gay-Straight Alliances play in creating safer school environments for LGBT youth,ä said Stacy Roth, executive director of IGLSS. ãCurrently there are at least 12 states considering safe schools-type legislation including Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, and Washington. This study provides critical information for advocates and researchers in these states.

According to recent studies, many LGBT youth and youth perceived to be LGBT face psychological and physical danger in the school setting. Other studies also reveal that without appropriate support LGBT youth may struggle in isolation with important developmental tasks such as intimacy and self esteem.

ãRecent studies show that LGBT youth are at risk for harassment and bullying by their peers. Schools must create policies that address these concerns,ä said Griffin. ãWith regular turnover of student leadership and adult advisors, and without policies and support from school principals and other administrators, the lasting effects of a good GSA will be limited. The entire school setting must be involved,ä says Griffin.

ãThere is no single strategy that can be employed to create safer schools,ä stated Roth. ãThere are many ways to try to help LGBT youth in todayâs high schools. GSAs are only the tip of the iceberg and are only doing part of the job.

Final publications from the larger study looking at schools participating in the MSSP are scheduled to include a full report and a self-assessment workbook for schools. These are scheduled for release in about 18 months.

The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) is a non-profit, independent think tank based in Amherst, Massachusetts. IGLSS provides policy-oriented research on issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.