Some choice reader comments in response to an innocuous USA Today article about a new Williams Institute study that analyzed poverty rates among “the gays” and found that “children of same-sex parents are twice as likely to live in poverty as those of traditional married couples.”

Lee Badgett, a co-author of the study, points out that gay families are at a financial disadvantage because they’re denied Social Security survivor benefits and are also, in many cases, denied the same health insurance coverage as their married heterosexual counterparts; Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation — they’re idiots, if you aren’t familiar with them — has already called the study “garbage.” Here’s what anonymous jackasses on the Internet have to say about it:

“Dumb article, same sex couples could not have kids.”

“Really, that’s what makes people poor? Because there is no one or government program to pick up the slack for them? It’s amazing that single people can make it at all, if that is true.”

“Who would have figured that having a father and a mother who honor marital covenants makes any difference with their children. I guess that is why it is called a family.”

“And this is news? USATODAY will print anything to take the spot light off Obama and his failed policys.”

“Actually it is impossible for same sex parents to have children, at least in the conventional sense. To state something like this without at least qualifying it shows poor understanding at best.”

“People can print this story and use it in their bathrooms to wipe with. I usually have respect for USAToday, but this story has no backbone or validity.”

“Poverty is the least of the problems these kids have. Growing up in a homosexual environment is the worst possible scenario for a child. Allowing gays to adopt children is a huge error in judgement by the courts and state legislatures.”

And of course, there’s also a comedian:

“I think they would have more money if they didn’t eat out so much…..I couldn’t resist saying that.”