Gay Clout

In the movie “Angels In America,” Roy Cohn’s character scoffs that in years of trying homosexuals have been unable to pass an equal rights amendment. He says this is because they lack clout. And it often feels we are relegated to a second class citizenship.

Only seven states allow gay marriage. In 30+ states, we can still be fired from jobs and evicted from homes. We cannot sponsor people from abroad as spouses. The refrain “marriage is between a man and a woman” has even issued forth from a beauty queen’s lips …

…and it bit her in the ass.

It would seem our cloutless status may be changing. But forcing Miss California to rethink her words is child’s play compared to the “clout” we wield economically. As proponents of Prop 8 found, we aren’t without gay teeth and will bite.

When the list of major donors to Prop 8 became public, many of the businesses who gave their financial support to the initiative found their gay patrons no longer supporting them. In some cases, these businesses found themselves with a host of picketers outside their doors. The reaction may not have had a public policy impact immediately, but I’m sure those folks are thinking really hard about publicly supporting something of that nature in the future.

Our pocket books may have an even greater impact on the issue of Gay Marriage. In the June 3 edition of Newsweek, the magazine reports that Massachucetts has seen a positive economic impact from same-sex marriage:

In the five years since legalizing same-sex marriage, Massachusetts has gained $111 million in spending from gay weddings, according to a new study published by UCLA's Williams Institute, which studies sexual-orientation law and public policy. "That's money buying flowers, hotels, caterers, hiring a band—all the things that go into a wedding," explains M. V. Lee Badgett, a coauthor of the study.

On a recent trip to Kansas City, I picked up the gay weekly paper there and learned KC is actively courting same-sex newly weds from Iowa to honeymoon there.

If the UCLA study’s numbers are right, at $7400 per wedding, few states can afford not legalize same-sex marriage or at the very least civil unions. If they don’t, they’re costing their states tens of thousands of dollars … given that 10 percent of us are gay.

In fact, Congress evaluated the issue back in 2004 and came to the conclusion that if all 50 states legalized same-sex marriage the federal government would see tax revenues of $1billion. The simple fact of the matter is there are lots of gay dollars to be had out there and so far seven states have a monopoly on that revenue.

Human nature being what it is, I can’t imagine many states will continue to let those states be the sole beneficiaries. It may be queer as a three dollar bill, but those queer Benjamins still spend at Wal Mart.