What Pennsyltucky Needs
Want to stimulate the economy across Pennsyltucky?
How many times have you heard people complaining about the “brain drain” in Erie?
Want to become more attractive to the Creative Class?
Want to youngen-up that graying population?
One possible solution, in four words: Legalize Same Sex Marriage.
According to an article over at The Gayborhood Times, which references a Reuters article, New England states that are legalizing same sex marriage are seeing in influx of new residents.
The expansion of legal gay marriage across New England could deliver an economic windfall by attracting a youthful "creative class" of workers to a region with an aging population.
…
New arrivals include John Visser and Nick Keffer, who recently moved to Hartford, Connecticut, from Raleigh, North Carolina. They plan to wed later this month.*
"The sole, only reason why we moved was because it was now legal for us to get married here," said Visser, 42. "No other reason whatsoever other than marriage equality. We were perfectly happy in North Carolina."
And it seems that legalizing same sex marriage doesn’t just attract members of the gay community.
Research shows that heterosexual members of the "creative class" — a group that includes financial whizzes, software programmers and educators — tend to regard states that allow gay marriages as more appealing places to live.
"It broadly suggests you have an environment in which people who are seen as different are accepted," said Gary Gates, the UCLA demographer who was the study’s lead author.
Outside New England, the only other U.S. state to allow gay marriage is Iowa. California for six months last year allowed same-sex weddings before voters put an end to the practice.
Another benefit of legalizing same sex marriage is that once you get the residents, they’re more likely to stay. They don’t have any desire to move to a state that isn’t willing to recognize their marital status. So, once you get ‘em, you’re more likely to keep ‘em, since many would only consider relocating to another state that recognizes their union. At the moment, I believe Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa have legalized same sex marriage. Vermont and Maine will follow in September of this year and New Hampshire will begin January 1, 2010. Pennsylvania should jump on this bandwagon pronto and become #7.
"Once these states offer marriage to these families, they will not quickly, willingly or easily accept new assignments, transfers and promotions to states that don’t offer them," said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, a Washington-based marketing firm that focuses on gay and lesbian issues. "They’re creating an economic wall in the region that is going to impact the ability of all national employers to move talent around."
Some married gay people said they would not consider moving to a state where their marriage would not be recognized.
"I just wouldn’t do it. It’s pretty straightforward," said Mike Swartz, 41, a vice president at a software company who lives with his husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
And, of course, don’t forget the shot in the arm the economy would receive via the wedding industry. Caterers, florists, hotels, photographers, wedding consultants, travel agencies, formalwear shops, cake bakers, etc. would all see increases in their business. Not to mention the extra money for the government from the increase in number of marriage licenses that would be purchased.
Then, all these new residents are going to need places to live, so the real estate/housing industry also gets a boost.
Even if the majority of Pennsyltuckians don’t give a good goddamned above civil rights and equality and minding their own damned business, Pennsylvania should legalize same sex marriage just to reap the economic benefits.
* All those people who whine and moan about how Erie is at a disadvantage at attracting new residents when compared to other cities because of our notoriously inclement winter weather need to take note of this, because I don’t think Connecticut, nor any of the other states on the list, is nearly as balmy as North Carolina. Not by a long shot. So there. 
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June 8th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Yeah, we’ll be one of the last states to do that too (the fact that part of the state is called Pennsyltucky is a hint). I would love to see that happen though.
Pennsylvania needs a kick in the jimmy sometimes.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
On the up side, at least Pennsylvania wasn’t the last state to pass a smoking ban. I think there are about 14 states that still don’t have any kind of smoking ban whatsoever, so at least we didn’t come in dead last on that one. But it would be awesome if Pennsylvania would join the other New England states in legalizing same sex marriage. The economic benefits would certainly be helpful, not to mention doing what’s right.