NBC reports on a new report that indicates anti-gay laws are economically hurtful to LGBT people. The report comes from two think tanks, the Center for American Progress and the pro-LGBT Movement Advancement Project.
Among the study's findings is income disparity, even among settled couples. In states banning gay marriage, same-sex couples raising children make $10,000 less a year than their heterosexual peers. In states allowing gay nuptials things were "almost at parity," according to analysis of 2012 U.S. Census data. To the persisting gender wage gap is also a huge factor, making things even toughter for Lesbian couples. In 2010, the Williams Institute found 7.6% of same-sex female couples were at or below the poverty line. This is contrasted with 5.7% straight couples, and 4.3% gay male couples.
Things are even worse for single LGBT adults and specifically transgender people. Single LGBTs, compared with straight counterparts, are three times more likely to have an income near the poverty line. Transgender people were nearly four times more likely to have a household income under $10,000 per year than the overall population.
