A Stitch in Haste

I have blogged before on how the “too much, too soon” crowd among gay activists are, for the most part, overlooking how forcing the issue, even if it meant initially losing 11-0 (really 12-0), will create a competitive landscape across the country as gays, and companies, now decide whether to live and do business in gay-friendly or gay-hostile states.

Here’s one early example, from Cincinnati — which, remember — repealed its anti-gay law in the midst of the 12 state defeats:

Last week, the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau sent letters to 200 groups that cited gay rights issues as a reason for not hosting meetings in Cincinnati.

And bureau representatives are considering meeting with eight groups that canceled scheduled events in Cincinnati after voters approved the amendment in 1993. Those conventions had been expected to bring $25 million to the area. “We’ll follow up with every group that canceled,” said Alan Welch, interim bureau president.

The impact on the convention business may not be immediate, because some of the groups targeted by the bureau are locked into deals to hold conventions in other cities through 2010. But some groups say repealing the amendment could be the first step toward bringing their business back.

The Rockville, Md.-based American Speech-Language-Hearing Association canceled its 1995 convention in Cincinnati because of the charter provision. The group wrote a letter at the time that said the amendment “sends the message that some of our members will not be welcome in Cincinnati.” Now Cheryl Russell, director of convention and meetings for the group, said it would consider Cincinnati for its regional meetings. “If they took it (Article XII) off the books, Cincinnati’s opened up to us now,” Russell said.

The American Library Association pulled out of a scheduled January 1995 convention, saying it wanted to take a “stand on human rights.”

Small first steps, perhaps, but certainly not the last. There will be economic consequences to states’ actions on gay rights. Keeping those consequences in the spotlight should be a major focus of advocacy groups, and individuals too. If either you or your company makes a major decision about relocation, employment, leisure travel or political activism based on a state’s policy toward gay marriage or gay rights generally, then make sure somebody knows about it.

It will, admittedly, be difficult to collect hard data on this phenomenon over time. But anecdotes, polls and survey data can all play their role. States compete, consciously or not, on taxes, regulatory environments, property rights, education policy, provision of public goods, and a variety of other factors. Why shouldn’t gay rights be one of them?

UPDATE: To further demonstrate this competitive phenomenon, here is an example from the other side of the fence:

With five [Michigan] state unions about to ratify new contracts that allow gay workers to extend their benefits to domestic partners, several groups are likely to use the new law to challenge those benefits.

The American Family Association of Michigan, which helped lead the fight for the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, said its passage prohibits the state from treating gay relationships as similar to marriages.
…
But the unions said they were just as willing to defend the benefits if they’re challenged by anyone. The state’s biggest union, UAW Local 6000, said it expected the state to live up to the spirit of the new contracts. “We believe an agreement is an agreement and a deal is a deal,” said union President Sharon Rivera.

So, given a choice between gay-friendly Cincinnati and gay-hostile Detroit, where do you think job-creating businesses and taxpaying gay couples are more likely to locate?

Cincinnati learned the hard way. If 2004′s Dirty Dozen anti-gay states have to learn the hard way as well, then so be it. Maybe they’re the ones who went for “too much, too soon.”

Related Posts:
“I Don’t Even Know Any Gay Republicans Who Never Tip…”
Gay Marriage: Any Lessons from the Boy Scouts?
Damn Right They’re Bigots
Vox Populi, Vox Nihilum
Gay Marriage as the “New Abolition”

Similar Posts:

• A “Tide”-al Wave of Bigotry
• Markets in Gay Rights: University of Wisconsin “Losing Outstanding Candidates”
• More Anti-Gay Hypocrisy Exposed
• “We Hate You, But In A Nice Way…”
• Anybody But Bloomberg: Claims Credit for Gay Pension Benefits After Losing Anti-Gay Court Challenge

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