Monday, November 24, 2008

Two birds with one stone...

In the wake of California's passage of Prop 8, some folks in the Vermont legislature decided it would be a good time to introduce full marriage. The Governor says he'd veto. He also says he'd rather they focus on the state's funding shortages. Critics very rightly pointed out that working on civil rights doesn't REALLY detract from working on the budget, but I'm going to be a little more radical in my thinking. Go figure.

How many times do we have to tell you that allowing gay marriage makes money for you? Currently, I can get married in Connecticut. Massachussetts is removing the residency requirement, so that will be two. Folks, I'll be getting "gay married" in the next couple years, and will probably have to travel to one of these states to get the license to be all legal and official. This means tax dollars and tourist traffic. Think about the money that brings in.

Florists. Musicians. Photographers. Hotels. Caterers. Formal wear rentals, sales, and alterations. Gifts. Honeymoons. Massachussetts estimated that allowing out-of-staters to get married would mean another $110 million in the state economy plus $5 million in marriage license fees and sales/occupancy taxes. They also saw an influx of new residents as gay workers moved to a more welcoming climate despite higher costs.

Huh...seems like a simple fix to me, Governor Douglas. "We're too poor to care/do the right thing" doesn't add up.

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