Gay Marriage Adds Up

[William769]

As Michele Bachmann and her cronies are trying to repeal gay marriage laws in Iowa, a new report shows that same-sex marriage actually does an economy good. A new Williams Institute report finds that the total spending on wedding arrangements and tourism by same-sex couples and their guests gave a $13 million boost to the state and local economy of Iowa in the first year alone.

“People spend a lot of money on this important day. We used very low estimates of how much these same-sex couples spent, but it adds up to significant new spending for Iowa’s wedding industry,” explains M. V. Lee Badgett, the study’s co-author and research director of the Williams Institute in California.

And what’s good for Iowa is good for other states that say “I do” to marriage equality. Are you listening, Pennsylvania?

According to the State of Iowa, at least 2,099 same-sex couples married during the first year following the decision to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Of these 2,099 marriages, 866 couples lived in Iowa and 1,233 couples came from other states to tie the knot. The top five contributors of non-resident couples were surrounding states in the Midwest. Illinois was the largest contributor in Iowa, accounting for 17 percent of all out-of-state couples, before it, too, legalized same-sex nuptials. The same can be said for New York and Massachusetts that also attract couples from nearby states.

http://blogs.phillymag.com/gphilly/2011/12/07/gay-marriage-adds/

"Who’s willing to turn down that kind of revenue in a recession?"

[Initech]

1. Ha I've been saying this for years!

[yardwork]

2. Was actually cited as one of the reasons for passing the law in New York.

Some of the Republican state legislators mentioned economics as the reason for their votes in favor of marriage equality. I believe that included the representative for Niagara Falls.