Report: Differences between gay and straight spouses disappear after legalization of gay marriage

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

Same-sex spouses were typically younger and were more likely to be employed than those in opposite-sex marriages, although many of those differences disappeared after the legalization of gay marriage in 2015. That’s according to a new report released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost 1.5 million people lived with a same sex spouse in the U.S. in 2022, double what it was in the year before gay marriage was legalized. The 2015 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriages legal in every U.S. state. The decision proved to be a watershed, with around 41% of same-sex spouses getting married within four years of the ruling.