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The Homosexual Family Although many people do not think of homosexual relationships as resulting in a family, it has been estimated that about one of five gays and one of three lesbians enter a homosexual marriage. The marriage may or may not be established by a formal ceremony. One male couple , for example , after four months of cohabitation3, went to Mass4 and let the service be their private ceremony of commitment. They used the term marriage to describe their relationship. They bought matching rings and verbally agreed to be sexually faithful, to emotionally support each other, and to have equal say in such matters as finances. Moreover, millions of gays and lesbians have had children. In many cases, the children were born when the individual was part of a heterosexual marriage . Subsequently, the individual openly acknowledged his or her homosexual preference. Some of these children are being raised in a homosexual familytwo men, two women, or some other arrangement. For example, Nancy is a lesbian who is raising a daughter with two gay males, one of whom is the childs father. Homosexual couples have to work through the same problems as heterosexual couples. They face issues of household division of labor, power, sexual relationships, and money. In addition, like the interracial couple , they face problems arising from being in a socially stigmatized relationship. Gallup polls5 that asked the American public whether homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal have found an increasing proportion from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s who said that they should not be legal. Homosexual families, then, must not only deal with the same issues as other families but also with a hostile environment and with some problems that are unique to6 the homosexual relationship . | 
