More than Economic Reasons Justify Gay Marriage

In the New York battle ground for same sex marriage a number of powerful economic players have come out in support of marriage equality saying that among other things gay marriage is important in the world of global competition and that “attracting talent is key to our state’s economic future.” There is much truth to the argument and I've used it myself in condemning Virginia's anti-gay jihad at the behest of the Christian Taliban centered on The Family Foundation based in Richmond. but, as an op-ed piece in the New York Times points out, much more than economic benefit dictates that allowing full same sex marriage is the right thing to do. Among them, full equality for all citizens and much more. Here are highlights from the column:
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IN a letter to the New York State Legislature last month, top business executives endorsed same-sex marriage on the ground that “attracting talent is key to our state’s economic future.” The signers — among them the banker Lloyd C. Blankfein, the financier Ronald O. Perelman, the real estate developer Jerry I. Speyer and the publisher Mortimer B. Zuckerman — declared that legalizing gay unions would “help maintain our competitive advantage in attracting the best and brightest people the world has to offer.”
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The letter was only the latest example of a trend toward promoting marriage equality as a boon to businesses and state and local budgets. While these arguments are appealing at first glance, and may be politically effective in the short run, they ultimately hurt the broader struggle for gay and lesbian equality.
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Those making these economic arguments probably have the best of intentions. After all, why can’t gays and lesbians have full equality, while also saving the state money and bolstering local economies? Aren’t civil rights narratives consistent with the economic case for same-sex marriage? Shouldn’t supporters use all possible arguments in the hopes that at least one will finally stick?
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And yet supporting marriage on economic grounds dehumanizes same-sex couples by conflating civil rights with economic perks. Americans should be offended when the value of gays and lesbians is reduced to their buying power as consumers or their human and creative capital as workers.
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Why can’t same-sex couples have access to the same rights and protections as their straight neighbors simply because they are citizens? How would we respond if the right to interracial marriage were based on the prospects that these relationships made good business sense or added to the state budget?
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Worse yet, this narrative neglects the most economically vulnerable gay and lesbian couples and plays into the inaccurate stereotype of same-sex couples (particularly male couples) as being mostly well-educated and affluent.
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So if you support same-sex marriage, do so not because it brings in tax revenue and tourism dollars and prevents people from becoming a burden on the state, but because you value gay men and lesbians as citizens who deserve equal access to the rights and responsibilities of marriage.