It’s no secret that this week the California Supreme Court will begin hearing verbal arguments on the repeal of Proposition 8; and while the arguments are strong that the measure is invalid because of the way it restructures the state’s Constitution, the path to victory may actually be found in our wallets… or pocketbooks depending on the outfit.
We’ve heard the case before that gay marriage is good for business. The theory, and in some cases the proven fact, is that gay residents would run to City Hall while folks from around the country would flock to California to get hitched. Then, like all good gay people do, we would all throw parties and receptions to celebrate our weddings.
I know it’s true for me. If I’m going to get married, believe me, there’s going to be a final send-off party.
It’s an idea that seems to be catching on. Just this week our friends in Maine started lobbying for the repeal of that state’s “Defense of Marriage” law. And who was leading the effort? Representatives from their inns, tourism and visitor industries, that’s who. They argue that extending marriage rights, and the ceremony and reception boon that would follow, would boost Maine’s economy by $60 million over the next three years.
According to the Williams Institute out of L.A., those figures are based on just over 2,300 resident gay couples and approximately 15,000 visiting couples choosing Maine for their weddings.
2,300 gay couples? You could sneeze in West Hollywood and hit a crowd twice that size. As for the visitors, California boasts one of the biggest travel and tourism industries in the world. Granted, California’s debt is close to $60 billion (with a ‘b’), but can any of us afford to turn away business? Even if legalizing marriage only makes a significant dent, isn’t that better than turning away customers and leaving millions of dollars at the door?
Perhaps now it is our job to convince the travel and tourism industry, including the inns, B&B’s, reception halls and chain hotels that good and decent policy equals good and decent business.
After all, it’s former President Clinton who said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Well, for us it’s equality, but sometimes it might be better for the purse strings to do the talking for us.
Source: instinctmagazine.com : by Jim Ver Steeg
Tags: businesses, economy, gay marriage, tourism, travel industry
Leave a Reply