The majority of citizens in Hawaii support gay marriage. The University of Hawaii concluded that legalizing gay marriage in the state would increase tourism profit by $217 million. With this amount of funds, gay marriage could be considered an "industry," as it was described by Hawaii News Now. What do you think of the perception of same-sex marriage as an industry?
Governor Abercrombie's call for a special session is certainly progress, and pushes forward the movement for marriage equality, at least in Hawaii. A special session allows full focus to be placed on the act and will be more efficient than usual discussion. Do you think this is a good way of going about the issue? Do you think other states will or should follow suit in the same fashion?
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8 comments:
I think that economically it is a good idea to legalize gay marriage because more and more gay couples will travel to Hawaii and have their weddings there. However, I think that calling gay marriage an "industry" is degrading because it makes it seem like Hawaii is focusing more on making a profit and the monetary value, rather than actually supporting gay marriage for emotional reasons. I think this act and the way they plan to pass it is a good idea because many of the Hawaiians already support gay marriage, so this method will help the act get passed faster.
There is indeed an interesting economic aspect to Hawaii's impending decision. I predict married gay couples will be viewed more and more as a consumer group by companies (such as Hawaii's tourism board) in the next couple years, as more and more states begin to allow gay marriage.
In a way, married gay couples are a relatively new consumer group, and are a population many companies have ignored, not by choice, but because of a lack of research and statistics. Check out this article:
http://www.npr.org/2013/07/08/200021271/how-many-gay-couples-have-tied-the-knot-nobody-knows
I agree with Jack's point that "married gay couples are a relatively new consumer group." It will be interesting to see the difference in business done by same-sex couples in Hawaii in the years following this act's suspected ratification. Although Hawaii may want to pass the equality act, its primary motivations may be in question, but in the end, it most likely will, which is a win for marriage equality. I believe that Hawaii can now seize this moment as a win-win, both helping the economy as well as creating more equality. Finally, I think that more states should follow in Hawaii's footsteps, whether it be for the projected increase in economy, or the more important social issues.
I like all of your guys' input! Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to say that Hawaii is thinking more about economics than equality. I just linked to that one article about the profit of same-sex marriages because I wanted to show that side of it. I think the state and Gov. Abercrombie have pure intentions.
I do see that same-sex couples are a growing consumer group, and I'm sure Hawaii does too, but I don't think that's their goal with the Act. The article Jack linked was interesting, and I can definitely see more market research being conducted on same-sex couples in the future.
I wonder whether economic reasons would be enough to turn people in favor of gay marriage, if they had formerly been opposed to it for idealogical or religious reasons. Often economic benefits can outweigh moral misgivings, but perhaps people would be resentful that they are being "forced" for economic reasons to be in favor of gay marriage. On the global picture, it may not matter since it could be argued that the "ends justify the means." However, if people, not necessarily the governor but working people, start promoting gay marriage for economic reasons, what's to stop them from quickly changing their mind if another option seems more economically profitable? What do you think?
Some political scientists believe that money and financial incentives are at the heart of policy. In some way, everything is a form of business; there's an undertaking industry, a last-rites religious industry, etc. Marriage is indeed an industry in many places, and would provide incentive to legalize same-sex marriage.
I don't think that economic benefits outweigh most peoples' beliefs. The economic incentive has always been there, but many still do not support same-sex marriage. I think the money aspect would have to be insanely large to actually change some peoples' beliefs.
Brianne's question about changing minds due to a different, more profitable option, is interesting. I think that people who would support same-sex marriage strictly for economic reasons (which is probably a small amount) would indeed be swayed when something more profitable comes up. Those people would be the highly business-minded, and they probably wouldn't consider the moral or emotional aspects (or whatever you want to call it) of issues before voting. I can't think of many situations that would be both profitable and a direct conflict of legalizing same-sex marriage, though.
While I feel that calling gay marriage an "industry" is somewhat disrespectful, it does make sense, because the homosexual community is indeed a new audience. I think that larger companies will continue to view them and value them as a new consumer group,and as a result of the snowballing effect, the states will also all legalize gay marriage. The economic benefits will be the greatest incentive to legalize gay marriage.
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