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September 26, 2007

New report profiles gays and lesbians in R.I.

There were 27,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual residents of Rhode Island in 2000, according to a study released today.

Drawing on 2000 Census data, the report, by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA, found most of those couples lived in Providence County: 1,600. Kent County was next with 347 same-sex couples.

Twelve percent of the same-sex couples are raising children.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy describes itself as a "think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation law and public policy. The Institute supports legal scholarship, legal research, policy analysis, and education regarding sexual orientation discrimination and other legal issues that affect lesbian and gay people."

Among other statistics in the report:

* More same-sex couples in the state are female than male, by a 53 percent to 47 percent in 2000.

* Individuals in same-sex couples average 40 years old, compared to 49 years old in married couples.

* "Contrary to a popular stereotype," the report says, men in same-sex couples earned an average income of $37,358, below the $48,769 average for married men.

* Women in same-sex couples earned more, on average, than married women -- $30,695 per year compared to $26,443.

* Same-sex couples in the state have fewer economic resources to provide for their families than do their married counterparts.

* About 7 percent of adopted children in Rhode Island live with a gay or lesbian parent.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 4:56 PM | Permalink

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