The Mouse that Roars

Back in May, a venerable Gallup poll revealed that most Americans think that over 20 percent of the population is homosexual. Only four percent believe-correctly--that homosexuals are less than five percent of the population (a leading homosexual researcher puts the figure at 1.7% homosexual and 1.8% bisexual). 


The percentage of those who are in long-term partnerships is even lower. The Census Bureau on Tuesday released updated estimates of the number of American households headed by same-sex couples. The bottom line? There aren't many--only one in every 180 households. 


Maybe the new numbers will help leaders to realize that there's no political gain in pandering to such a tiny population. Although the Census Bureau referred to some of those couples as "married"--in apparent violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (under which the federal government recognizes only opposite-sex marriages)--the data nevertheless reinforced a key argument against same-sex "marriage."


A paper based on the American Community Survey, whose findings were similar to the census count, found that even in the states which allow same-sex "marriage," only 42% of the same-sex couples who lived together identified themselves as "married." We need to restore marriage as the normative setting for sex, procreation, and childrearing--not redefine it for the benefit of a group that's already rejected that norm.