By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK – As much as Americans revere the family, they differ sharply on how to define it.
New research being released Wednesday shows steadily increasing recognition of unmarried couples – gay and straight – as families. But there’s a solid core resisting this trend who are more willing to include pets in their definition than same-sex partners.
How “family” is defined is a crucial question on many levels. Beyond the debate over same-sex marriage, it affects income tax filings, adoption and foster care practices, employee benefits, inheritance rights and countless other matters.