Report Highlights Economic Disadvantages Of Gay Hispanic Couples

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Report Highlights Economic Disadvantages Of Gay Hispanic Couples

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: November 1, 2005 1:00 pm ET

(Houston, Texas) A report released Tuesday shows there are more 100,000 Hispanic same-sex couple households nationwide, and that same-sex couples in which both partners are Hispanic earn less and are less likely to own a home than white non-Hispanic same-sex couple households.

The study was prepared by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and National Latino/a Coalition for Justice and was based on figures from the last US census.

It was released in Houston, one week before Texans go to the polls to consider a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Texas has one of the highest Hispanic populations in the country.

The report shows that nationwide roughly two-thirds of same-sex couples in which both partners are Hispanic are raising children. The study also shows that Hispanic same-sex couples are raising non-biological children at almost the same rate as Hispanic married opposite-sex couples (5 percent vs. 4 percent).

In addition, nearly half (44 percent) of the individuals in same-sex couples in which both partners are Hispanic report they are not U.S. citizens, compared to just 5 percent of individuals in white non-Hispanic same-sex couples.

For these reasons, the study finds that Hispanic same-sex couples have much to gain from the legal protections of marriage and nondiscrimination protections - and much to lose when states prohibit same-sex marriage and other forms of partner recognition.

“Many of the 1,138 federal benefits and protections of marriage are designed to help families save money, purchase a home and better provide for their children, said Jason Cianciotto, the study’s author.

" This study shows that Hispanic same-sex couple families would not only benefit from the ability to marry, but also are disproportionately harmed by anti-same-sex marriage laws and constitutional amendments. For example, the inability to marry prevents individuals from sponsoring a non-citizen same-sex partner for immigration purposes, which disproportionately threatens the stability of Hispanic same-sex couple families, many with children.”

The study also found that individuals in Hispanic same-sex couples are nearly as likely as individuals in Hispanic married opposite-sex couples to report living in the same residence as five years earlier (39 percent vs. 48 percent), an indicator of relationship stability.

The authors noted that Hispanic same-sex couple households primarily speak Spanish at home at nearly the same rate as Hispanic married opposite-sex couple households (77 percent vs. 81 percent).

©365Gay.com 2005

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