More states legally recognizing gay marriage could put a strain on same-sex relationships, according to two University of Arkansas at Fayetteville economists.
Amy Farmer and Andrew Horowitz developed a theoretical model that included legal uncertainties regarding same-sex marriage.
Their model assumed that couples who live in a state where same-sex marriage isn’t legally recognized will consider moving or weigh the likelihood of legalization where they live.
They found “relationship hazard rates” rise when the cost of moving falls as more states allow same-sex marriage. The option of marriage “can create friction if preferences differ,” Farmer said in a statement.
The research will be published in the Southern Economic Journal, according to UA.
“My response to this study is: tell me about it!” Fred Sainz, vice president for communications and marketing with the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group, wrote in an email. “My boyfriend in Nevada uses the ‘M’ word all the time now that marriage is legal in New Mexico and California and it’s a total drag. But, at the end of the day, these are the same problems straight people have! Equality means that gay couples in all 50 states should have the same right to fight over whether to get married as straight couples do.”
Farmer said in a statement that she and Horowitz are “simply focusing on economics of the household” and not advocating a position on same-sex marriage. In Arkansas, a circuit court judge in May struck down a ban on same-sex marriage, but the ban was temporarily reinstated by the Arkansas Supreme Court pending its consideration of the issue.
— Jaime Adame