Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been touring the country trying to get businesses to move to Texas. If he really wants to bring more money into his state, perhaps he should talk to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Rybak has been touring states without marriage equality, inviting same-sex couples to wed in Minneapolis. Minnesota is the only state between New York and California to allow same-sex marriage with the exception of Iowa, where it was legalized by the state Supreme Court in 2009. That decision is estimated to have added more than $10 million to the Iowa economy, with more to come as marriages are on the rise after the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Iowa is also the nearest place for many LGBT Southerners to wed. If Gov. Perry got Texas in the equality column, he would have a near monopoly on same-sex nuptials from Southern California to Maryland. Not only would that bring in serious wedding tourism dollars, it might entice some of the well-educated employees Perry is seeking to stay in Texas after the ceremony.
Of course to fully capitalize on the LGBT money, Texas probably needs to provide protections to LGBT employees, something Minnesota and Iowa already do. That might actually help with his business pitch, as corporate America has already embraced LGBT equality as a way to recruit and maintain the best employees. It’s hard to imagine the companies that helped bankroll marriage equality initiatives in Minnesota, Washington and Maryland leaving those employees behind in a mad dash to Texas.
Marriage equality also saves money in the courts, as Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is discovering. Since Attorney General Kathleen Kane believes Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, Corbett is planning to pay private lawyers up to $400 an hour to defend it. Seems like a hefty price tag to defend a discriminatory policy that the majority of Pennsylvanians no longer support.
Rybak’s tour has another advantage over Perry’s attempt to steal businesses: local politicians are happy to see him. While Rybak is happy to take the money that states without marriage equality are leaving on the table, he is more than happy to help those states catch up. Perry’s no tax message is a race to the bottom, one Gov. Jerry Brown didn’t join, calling Perry’s ad campaign “barely a fart.”
Unfortunately for Perry, he may be running out of time to capitalize on Texas’ geographic advantage. The New Mexico Supreme Court will hear arguments next month about whether the state’s somewhat vague laws allow same-sex marriage. While it’s farther away, sun-seeking couples might soon be lured by Hawaii, where Gov. Abercrombie has called a special session of the legislature to address marriage equality. Florida, or even New Orleans (fingers-crossed) are only a matter of time. At that point, the marriage dollars will be leaving Texas, and all Perry will have to say is “Oops.”
