Following Prop. 8, Connecticut steps up as gay wedding destination

Today marks the first day that same-sex couples can request marriage licenses in Connecticut, following a favorable ruling by the State Supreme Court on Oct. 10.

Tens of millions of dollars that had been flowing into California’s tourist economy could now be redirected to the opposite coast. On the same day that California voted overwhelmingly in favor of anti-gay Proposition 8, voters in Connecticut soundly rejected a constitutional convention that could have overturned same-sex marriages in their state.

The economic benefits in Connecticut could be huge. The website RainbowWeddingNetwork.com estimates that the average same-sex couple spends $15,000 to $20,000 on a wedding, and a 2006 UCLA Law School study found that gay weddings in Connecticut could generate more than $2 million a year in new sales tax revenues alone.

Love Makes a Family, a Connecticut non-profit promoting GLBT rights, has created a wedding catalog listing businesses that support same-sex marriage. It takes a $100 donation to get a six-month listing, and no travel agencies have yet signed up for this potentially lucrative marketing vehicle.

Hartford Courant: “Same-sex marriage: Something new, indeed“