The Impact of Not Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community

Abstract

In their recent article, Wight et al.1 find that same-sex married lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons were significantly less distressed than those not in a legally recognized relationship. In adjusted pairwise comparisons, married heterosexuals had the lowest psychological distress, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons who were not in legalized relationships had the highest psychological distress. Their findings thus demonstrate that same-sex marriage may bestow health benefits. Blosnich et al.2 outlined survey data that indicated greater suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, and bisexual veterans compared with heterosexual veterans. The authors also emphasized that sexual minority veterans have poorer mental health as well as decreased social and emotional support. Blosnich et al. additionally stated that a sense of social isolation may be a factor resulting in this negative outcome. Other authors have emphasized the great need for the improved health care of sexual minority and transgender veterans and that the US Department of Veterans Affairs must make this a priority.3 A patient in the female ward at the Mental Health Center of Xuhui District in western Shanghai, China. Printed with permission of Corbis. Because current evidence shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons face high levels of psychological distress stemming from social isolation and the difficulty in obtaining a legally recognized relationship, it is clear that this group requires empathetic and supportive treatment from all health care providers.