Over 130,000 gay U.S. couples report they’re married

In 2010, more than 130,000 proud gay people recorded partners as husband or wife on the U.S. Census. And the number of gay Americans who report they’re living with same-sex partners nearly doubled in the past decade, to about 650,000 couples. Marriage equality was legal in five states and DC when information was gathered. 2010 was the first time same-sex couples checked “husband” or “wife” on their census since marriage became legal for everyone in Massachusetts starting in ’04. Nationwide, about 51 percent of the couples last year were female. Nearly one in five of the same-sex couples was raising children at home – “widely distributed among those who reported being in marriage relationships and those who were not.” The highest share of households with reported same-sex couples – both married and unmarried – was in D.C., at nearly 2 percent. Washington was followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Delaware, New Mexico and Washington state.

[via AP]