banning same-sex marriage increases the HIV infection rate
By Dr. Charlie Glickman • Jun 9th, 2009 • Category: Blog
via Carnal Nation
This doesn’t surprise me, but I’m really glad to see the data. According to some new research from Emory University, banning same-sex marriage is one of the factors that can lead to an increase in HIV infections. It works like this:
Banning same-sex marriage is an indicator of intolerance towards queers. Intolerance leads to risky sexual behavior since it forces men who have sex with men to seek underground, anonymous opportunities to have sex. This leads to a higher rate of HIV infections.
So now we can approach the gay marriage debate from a public health angle, as well as a social justice angle. Not that I think that this will really change the minds of people who are convinced that queers = evil, but maybe it will. After all, they’re arguing that if we “legitimize” same-sex relationships, disaster will follow. Now we have empirical evidence that they have it backwards. As usual.
For the full article click here. And if you’re interested, here’s the abstract:
We empirically investigate the effect of tolerance for gays on the spread of HIV in the United States. Using a state-level panel dataset spanning the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, we find that tolerance is negatively associated with the HIV rate. We then investigate the causal mechanisms potentially underlying this relationship. We find evidence consistent with the theory that tolerance for homosexuals causes low-risk men to enter the pool of homosexual partners, as well as causes sexually active men to substitute away from underground, anonymous, and risky behaviors, both of which lower the HIV rate.
Dr. Charlie Glickman >> Dr. Charlie Glickman has been working at Good Vibrations since 1996, when he joined the staff at our Berkeley store. Currently, he is our Education Program Manager and (among other things) runs our in-store After Hours workshop program, our Off-Site Sex Education Program, trains our Sex Educator-Sales Associates and writes copy for our website. In 2005, Charlie received his doctorate in Adult Sexuality Education from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, he offers classes on sexuality for psychotherapists and workshops on teaching for sex educators.
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