skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study: Legalizing Gay Marriage Brings Drop in Teen Suicides

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 22, 2017   

HOUSTON – New research says state laws legalizing same-sex marriage have brought a reduction in suicide attempts among high-school students. The study particularly notes a decline in suicides among gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers in those states, prior to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling upholding gay marriage.

Advocates for the Texas LGBT community are hoping that trend will continue. Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas, says laws granting civil rights can have a profound effect on a person's self-image.

"The larger takeaway is, this is a study that can begin to make a connection between policies or laws that either affirm or stigmatize people and their psychological and physical health," he said.

The study from Johns Hopkins University found in an average year, three in 10 gay teenagers attempt suicide, six times the rate for straight teens. But in states where gay marriage was legalized, there was a 14-percent drop in suicide attempts by gay teens. The authors say while the study doesn't directly link the two events, it suggests additional studies to see if the trend continues.

Smith says gay teens are often stigmatized or bullied because of their sexuality, and that laws granting them civil rights can make them more hopeful for the future, and less inclined to harm themselves.

"If laws and policies are enacted that are affirming of lesbian and gay people's sexual identity, that actually can have an effect of reducing the triggers that could negatively impact mental and physical health," he explained.

He says recent events in Texas confirm that acceptance, by the legal system and society, is critical to people who are gay.

"We saw in Houston after their non-discrimination ordinance was repealed, there was an increase in calls to suicide-prevention lines," he added.

The research, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, reviewed published data about more than 750,000 adolescents from 47 states, with 231,000 identifying themselves as gay. The researchers did not study transgender students.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021