With tourism struggling in many parts of Virginia - e.g., Colonial Williamsburg is laying off staff and despite its efforts to become more upscale, Virginia Beach remains a largely blue collar destination - perhaps the tourism industry needs to throw the Christianists overboard and push for the repeal of the heinous Marshall-Newman Amendment that was championed by Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli, et al, and look at what's happening in Iowa where out of state gays and lesbians are visiting and spending money on weddings. Truth be told, LGBT Americans are among the biggest spenders on tourism, yet Virginia currently has made itself not only hostile to gay tourists but has also created a legal structure where LGBT Virginians typically travel out of state to spend their money. I often wonder at what point citizens as a whole will vote to over ride the narrow mindset of Christian extremists and welcome all citizens. Here are some highlights from the Washington Blade on what's happening in Iowa:*
Data show that same-sex couples are coming from other states to get married in Iowa. An Iowa Supreme Court ruling in April legalized same-sex marriage in the state. The Des Moines Register reports that since the April ruling, state data show about 45 percent of Iowa’s same-sex marriages were between out-of-state couples.
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Between April 27 and July 27 there were 5,214 marriage certificates issued statewide. Of those, 676 were for same-sex couples. Gender was concealed on 339 marriage certificates. Of the 676 same-sex couples, 312 couples weren’t from Iowa. They were from neighboring states. Data show 57 couples were from Illinois, 38 were from Nebraska, 37 were from Missouri and 36 were from Minnesota.
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