http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/uclalaw_williams_postprints/rss Recent eScholarship items from Postprints from The Williams Institute Mon, 29 Jun 2026 02:36:18 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dj9k0h6 <p>A “Model Marriage Code” and a “Model Civil Union Code” will ensure greater consistency, predictability, and completeness among state laws offering protections to same-sex couples and their families. They also will reduce confusion when separate state rules governing same-sex and different-sex couples affect employers, businesses, government and other institutions.</p><p>Currently, nineteen states and the District of Columbia offer same-sex couples either marriage or a non-marriage, alternative status – or both, providing legally recognized partnership options for more than 40 percent of the U.S. population and nearly 50 percent of same-sex couples. However, the limitations and inconsistency among state laws cause unnecessary confusion and vulnerability for couples and families whose rights are at stake. Likewise, the current state-law patchwork creates difficulties for businesses that face additional burdens due to the diverse proliferations of family law statuses for same-sex... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dj9k0h6 Wed, 16 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 Pizer, Jennifer Kuehl, Sheila James https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sd3f251 <p>Over ninety percent of the 100 top companies in the U.S.—the top 50 federal contractors and the top 50 Fortune 500 companies—have policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and 78% of the companies have policies prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity. In comparison to a 2011 study, based on 2010 data, there has been a 50% increase in the number of top federal contractors with gender identity non-discrimination policies and a 26% increase in the number of top Fortune 500 companies with gender identity non-discrimination policies.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sd3f251 Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Mallory, Christy Sears, Brad https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7j08z94p <p>Employment and housing discrimination against New York’s transgender residents costs the state millions of dollars each year. These costs include public assistance and housing expenditures, and lost income tax revenue. According to population figures from the 2010 Census, 23,800 New York transgender residents are not covered by local ordinances that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, public accomodations, and other areas.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7j08z94p Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Herman, Jody https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv1b0s5 <p>Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in Minnesota would bring an estimated $42 million to the state and local economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,207 same-sex couples live in Minnesota. Total state and local tax revenue would rise by $3 million, including an estimated $128,000 in local taxes. As seen in Iowa, same-sex couples from neighboring states that do not allow same-sex couples to marry may travel to Minnesota and generate additional spending on wedding and tourism-related goods and services.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7bv1b0s5 Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Kastanis, Angeliki Badgett, Lee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6133p8hp Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in Delaware would bring an estimated $7 million to the state and local economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,646 same-sex couples live in Delaware. Of those couples, 50 percent, or approximately 767 marriage licenses, would be issued within the first three years after the passage of marriage equality, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere. The report also takes into account the Delaware couples that may have married in other states. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6133p8hp Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Kastanis, Angeliki Badgett, Lee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0hj853sk <p>Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in Rhode Island would bring an estimated $7 million to the state and local economy, including $5.5 million in additional wedding spending and $1.5 million in tourism expenditures made by out-of-town guests. Based on Rhode Island’s rates of 7 percent sales tax and 6 percent hotel and lodging tax, $530,000 in tax revenue will be generated for the state in the first three years same-sex couples may marry. The boost in travel spending will generate approximately 26 jobs in the state.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0hj853sk Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Kastanis, Angeliki Badgett, Lee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gq3904z <p>By the end of 2012, 12 states and the District of Columbia had support for same-sex marriage at or above 50%. Of these 12 states, all currently perform marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Thirteen additional states presently are within 5 percentage points of majority support. In the last eight years, every state has increased in its support for marriage for same-sex couples with an average increase of 13.6%. If present public opinion trends continue, another 8 states will be above 50% support by the end of 2014.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gq3904z Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Flores, Andrew R Barclay, Scott https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xs6g8xx As many as six million American children and adults have an LGBT parent. Same-sex couple parents and their children are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities. An estimated 39 percent of individuals in same-sex couples with children under age 18 at home are non-white, as are half of their children.  LGBT parents live in states from coast to coast, but many do not actually live on the coasts. States with the highest proportions of same-sex couples raising biological, adopted or step-children include Mississippi (26%), Wyoming (25%), Alaska (23%), Idaho (22%), and Montana (22%).Notably, the report found that LGBT individuals and same-sex couples raising children face greater economic challenges than their non-LGBT counterparts. Single LGBT adults raising children are three times more likely than comparable non-LGBT individuals to report household incomes near the poverty threshold. Married or partnered LGBT individuals living in two-adult households with children are twice... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xs6g8xx Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xm6f7nw More than eight million people in the American workforce identify as LGBT. Research shows the existence of widespread and continuing discrimination against LGBT workers across the U.S. Texas law does not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Based on data from the U.S. Census, we estimate that approximately 431,095 LGBT workers live in Texas. Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s non-discrimination law would offer protection to these workers, and would have a minimal impact on state agencies and the state budget. We estimate that amending Texas’s non-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity would result in an increase of approximately 203 additional administrative complaints per year. This estimate was reached by applying the national rate of complaint filings based on sexual orientation, 4.7 per every 10,000 LGBT workers, to the underlying LGBT population in Texas. The cost of enforcing... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xm6f7nw Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Badgett, M.V. Lee Mallory, Christy https://escholarship.org/uc/item/98d2n387 Transgender people who have transitioned to live in a gender different from the gender assigned to them at birth face unique obstacles to obtaining identification documents that reflect their correct gender. Transgender citizens with inaccurate identification may encounter obstacles to voting. An increasing number of U.S. states have adopted voter identification laws (voter ID laws), which require voters to prove their identity by providing an acceptable form of identification to poll workers before voting in an election. The strictest voter ID laws require voters to present government-issued photo ID at the polls. If North Carolina were to implement a strict photo ID law for voting, this law may create substantial barriers to voting and possible disenfranchisement for nearly 5,000 transgender residents of North Carolina. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/98d2n387 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Jody, Herman https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dk71277 There are nearly 650,000 same-sex couples in the United States, of which approximately 114,100 are legally married and over 108,600 are in civil unions or registered domestic partnerships. This research brief summarizes the demographic characteristics of same-sex couples and compares them to different-sex couples. The analyses highlight trends and changes in the demographic diversity of same-sex couples and assess the degree to which similar changes are occurring among different-sex couples. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dk71277 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6b37s7kp A group of eight Williams Institute-affiliated scholars on sexual orientation and gender law joined with the National Women’s Law Center and eight other leading women’s legal groups to file a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that, like laws that discriminate based on sex, laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation warrant heightened judicial scrutiny because, among other considerations, such laws are based on overbroad gender stereotypes.  The scholars on the brief were Nancy Polikoff, Vicki Schultz, Nan D. Hunter, Christine A. Littleton, Devon Carbado, Cheryl Harris, Seana Shiffrin, and Brad Sears.  Counsel on the brief were David Codell, the Williams Institute’s Visiting Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law and Legal Director; Marcia Greenberger and Emily Martin of the National Women’s Law Center; and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6b37s7kp Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Polikoff, Nancy Schultz, Vicki Hunter, Nan D. Littleton, Christine A. Carbado, Devon Harris, Cheryl Shiffrin, Seana Sears, Brad https://escholarship.org/uc/item/61z7h2d6 <p>Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Illinois would generate up to $103 million in spending to the state and local economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 23,049 same-sex couples live in Illinois. Of those couples, the report estimates that 50% (11,525 couples) would choose to marry in the first three years, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Of the couples that will marry, 64% of those marriages will occur during the first year, 21% in the second year and 15% in the third year.</p><p>In the first three years of extending marriage to same-sex couples, the study estimates that the state’s wedding business would see an increase by $74 million, and an increase of $29 million in tourism expenditures made by out-of-town guests over the same period; total state and local tax revenue would rise by $8.5 million, including an estimated $1-2 million in local sales taxes. The first year would produce $5.4 million of this spending; the boost in wedding... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/61z7h2d6 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Badgett, M.V. Lee Kastanis, Angeliki https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5640q32g By the end of 2012, 12 states and the District of Columbia had support for same-sex marriage at or above 50%. Of these 12 states, all currently perform marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Thirteen additional states presently are within 5 percentage points of majority support. In the last eight years, every state has increased in its support for marriage for same-sex couples with an average increase of 13.6%. If present public opinion trends continue, another 8 states will be above 50% support by the end of 2014. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5640q32g Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Flores, Andrew R. Barclay, Scott https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zd153qd Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in Minnesota would bring an estimated $42 million to the state and local economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,207 same-sex couples live in Minnesota. Total state and local tax revenue would rise by $3 million, including an estimated $128,000 in local taxes. As seen in Iowa, same-sex couples from neighboring states that do not allow same-sex couples to marry may travel to Minnesota and generate additional spending on wedding and tourism-related goods and services. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zd153qd Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Badgett, M.V. Lee Kastanis, Angeliki https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2nz8t6vx Williams Distinguished Scholar Gary J. Gates filed a friend-of-the-court brief presenting and analyzing demographic and economic data regarding LGBT adults and same-sex couples and their children in the United States.   This brief analyzes data from the 2010 United States Census, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the General Social Survey, and data from the Gallup Daily Tracking Survey.  The law firm of Kirkland &amp; Ellis LLP served as counsel on the brief. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2nz8t6vx Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2cj0k29c There are approximately 267,000 LGBT-identified individuals among the adult undocumented immigrant population and an estimated 637,000 LGBT-identified individuals among the adult documented immigrant population. The report finds that approximately 71 percent of undocumented LGBT adults are Hispanic and 15 percent of undocumented LGBT adults are Asian or Pacific Islander. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2cj0k29c Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6t44n67s <p>This article focuses on the influence of male role models on the lives of adolescents (N = 78) in the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. Half of the adolescents had male role models; those with and those without male role models had similar scores on the feminine and masculine scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as on the trait subscales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity) and the Child Behavior Checklist (internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behavior). A positive association was found between feminine gender role traits and curiosity, and a negative correlation between this trait and internalizing problem behavior; these associations were independent of the gender of the adolescents and the presence of male role models. In sum, the absence of male role models did not adversely affect the psychological adjustment of adolescents reared by lesbian mothers.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6t44n67s Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Bos, Henny Goldberg, Naomi Gelderen, Loes Van Gartrell, Nanette https://escholarship.org/uc/item/53x3r16j In a recent study, the Author of this Article estimated that the self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community makes up 3.8 percent of the American population. The Author’s estimate was far lower than many scholars and activists had contended, and it included a relatively high proportion of persons self-identifying as bisexuals. This Article responds to two of the central criticisms that arose in the controversy that followed. First, in response to claims that his estimate did not account for people who are in the closet, the Author describes how demographers might measure the size of the closet. Second, in response to those who either ignored the reported large incidence of bisexuality or misconstrued the meaning of that incidence, the Author considers how varying frameworks for conceptualizing sexual orientation might alter the ratio of lesbian or gay individuals to bisexuals. This Article goes on to offer observations about the challenges and implications... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/53x3r16j Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/44p0w3nd <p>Thirty years after HIV was first identified, for the majority of those infected in the United States, effective combination therapies to combat HIV have turned the disease into a manageable chronic condition. But HIV discrimination has still proven intractable in the field of health care. For example, a series of studies has revealed that 46 percent of skilled nursing facilities, 55 percent of OB/GYNs, and 26 percent of plastic surgeons in Los Angeles County refuse to provide services to any HIV-positive patient, in violation of state and federal law.</p><p>This Study examines HIV discrimination among dentists in Los Angeles County. For people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), dental care is particularly important because problems in the mouth may be the first symptoms of an HIV infection and can also signify disease progression; routine, proper dental care can have a significant impact on oral and general health. This Study reveals that 5 percent of dentists in Los Angeles County... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/44p0w3nd Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Sears, Brad Cooper, Christian Younai, Fariba S. Donohoe, Tom https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wf4t3q9 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have experienced a long and pervasive history of employment discrimination. Today, more than eight million people in the American workforce identify as LGBT, but there still is no federal law that explicitly prohibits sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination against them.This Article begins by surveying the social science research and other evidence illustrating the nature and scope of the discrimination against LGBT workers and the harmful effects of this discrimination on both employees and employers. It then analyzes the existing legal protections against this discrimination, which include constitutional protections for public sector workers, court interpretations of Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination, state and local antidiscrimination laws, and corporate policies. This Article determines that, while these laws and policies provide important protection, the current system is incomplete, confusing, and inadequate.... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wf4t3q9 Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Pizer, Jennifer Mallory, Christy Sears, Brad Hunter, Nan https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7n38m7nd In an article published recently in <em>Signs, </em>Williams Institute Research  Director Lee Badgett discusses her research on bi-national same-sex couples living in the Netherlands.   She finds that many of these couples face difficult limitations in choosing where to live.  Instead of living where they would prefer, or following the best job opportunities, they often have no choice about where to reside in order  to avoid separation.   As a result, the non-citizen members of these Dutch couples sometimes had to take lower paying jobs and bear the emotional costs of living far from their birth families. Couples also shared the symbolic harm they experienced in visiting the United States.     The fact that their marriages are not recognized is driven home as they are required to fill out different forms,  wait in different lines, and answer different questions to enter the U.S. separately instead of together. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7n38m7nd Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Badgett, M.V. Lee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sc726gd Williams Distinguished Scholar Gary Gates co-authored a paper titled “HIV Prevalence Rates Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Southern United States: Population-Based Estimates by Race/Ethnicity” that has been published in the journal AIDS and Behavior. The report addresses the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) across the southern United States and specifically considers HIV prevalence across racial and ethnic groups. Analyses suggest that HIV rates are substantially higher among African-American MSM compared to Latino and White MSM. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sc726gd Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Gates, Gary J. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1rd935tm Much of the debate about marriage rights for same-sex couples has focused on material and legal benefits. However, some of the primary benefits of marriage equality for same-sex couples and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people might be psychological. The two studies presented draw on qualitative data from 19 same-sex couples in the Netherlands and 556 people married to same-sex partners in Massachusetts (United States). The right to marry and exercising the right to marry were associated with greater feelings of social inclusion among people in same-sex couples. The Massachusetts data find that White, male, high-income respondents reported greater feelings of inclusion than other groups. Individuals with more accepting families and people with more wedding guests reported more feelings of social inclusion. On a policy level, the social inclusion effect suggests marriage may have significant psychological benefits for same-sex couples. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1rd935tm Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Badgett, M.V. Lee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0842x56p This study examined the effects of exposure to everyday experiences of inequality. It finds that stigma and social inequality can increase stress and reduce well-being for LGB people,  even in the absence of major traumatic events such as hate crimes and discrimination. The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, used qualitative analysis with 57 sexual minority men and women to identify aspects of stigma that are difficult to identify.  Subjects reported estrangement from families, failure to complete schooling, and isolation in the workplace. “Imagine living life anticipating exclusion from your friends, family and professional circles simply because of who you are and who you love – that resulting stress takes a toll on one’s life and health,” says co-author Dr. Ilan Meyer.  The research also found that, paradoxically, sexual minorities sometimes view stigma as having enhanced their lives and as having a defining impact on their identity. For example, LGB... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0842x56p Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Meyer, Ilan H. Ouellette, Suzanne C. Haile, Rahwa McFarlane, Tracy A. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m97j8zc States across the U.S. lack effective ways to quantify HIV prevalence rates among men who have sex with men (MSM). We estimated population-based HIV prevalence rates among MSM in the 17 southern states by race/ethnicity. Through 2007, estimated HIV prevalence rates per 100,000 MSM ranged from 2,607.6 among white (non-Hispanic) MSM in Maryland to 41,512.9 among black (non-Hispanic) MSM in the District of Columbia. Black MSM rates significantly exceeded Hispanic and white MSM rates in each state. Significant racial/ethnic disparities in rates persisted in a sensitivity analysis examining the possibility that minority MSM populations had been underestimated in each state. Compared with black, Hispanic, and white non-MSM males, respectively, rates at the regional level were 25.2 times higher for black MSM, 43.0 times higher for Hispanic MSM, and 106.0 times higher for white MSM. State-level analysis of racial/ethnic-specific MSM HIV prevalence rates can help guide resource allocation... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m97j8zc Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Lieb, Spencer Prejean, Joseph Thompson, Daniel R. Fallon, Stephen J. Cooper, Hannah Gates, Gary J. Liberti, Thomas M. Friedman, Samuel R. Malow, Robert M. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7f06z3sv The objective of this study was to document the psychological adjustment of adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination by lesbian mothers who enrolled before these offspring were born in the largest, longest running, prospective, longitudinal study of same-sex–parented families.  Adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment. These findings have implications for the clinical care of adolescents and for pediatricians who are consulted on matters that pertain to same-sex parenting. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7f06z3sv Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gartrell, Nanette Bos, Henny