Same-Sex Marriage & HIV Rates
June 8, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
Do bans on same-sex marriage affect HIV infection rates?
Yes, says two economists, Hugo Mialon and Andrew Francis, from Emory University.
The researchers calculated that a rise in tolerance reduced HIV cases by one per 100,000 people from the 1970s to the 1990s. More recently, they saw that laws against same-sex marriage boosted HIV cases by 4 per 100,000.
“Bans on gay marriage codify intolerance, causing more gay people to shift to underground sexual behaviors that carry more risk,” said Mialon in a recent news release.
The effect appears to be indirect and related to intolerance or lack of acceptance.
Read more about the study at Emory University or Science Daily.
How do you feel about the same-sex marriage study results?
(Image via flickr)
