In its quest to prostitute itself the the Christofascists - e.g., here in Virginia the hate merchants at The Family Foundation - the Republican Party has time and time again shown itself only too willing to indulge in horrific gay bashing and a willingness to work to keep gays as a modern day equivalent of blacks under the Jim Crow laws. However, as additional states and countries embrace LGBT rights and full gay marriage, LGBT citizens who are treated as lepers in their home states and countries have a growing number of options in terms of places where they can emigrate to where they will be granted equal rights with all other citizens. If these LGBT individuals do choose to leave, their states will find that they will reap a negative consequence. As I have noted many times before, if circumstances were different, I'd leave Virginia in a heartbeat and shake the dust off of my shoes as I crossed the border. The Huffington Post looks at the phenomenon including at least one high profile LGBT individual who may be ready to move in order to be treated as an equal citizen. Here are highlights:
If the Supreme Court decides to leave marriage equality up to the states to decide, will gay couples be concentrated in a few select states while the rest of the U.S. languishes behind in civil rights? Suze Orman, the financial planning guru, TV host, and HuffPost blogger who lives with her lesbian partner in Fort Lauderdale, recently threatened to take her riches to another state where her relationship is recognized.
"Currently I am a resident of Florida … and I have substantial wealth and I pay substantial taxes," Orman said on MSNBC's "Now With Alex Wagner." "I would be more than happy to move to New York or California if I could get married and be recognized on a federal level," she continued. "Because I want to live in a state that validates me, and I would validate them with my money."
"I am hoping, wishing and praying that DOMA is overturned," Orman said on her own show. "Obviously I have a lot at stake here. I have been gay my whole entire life. I've been in a relationship with KT for 12 years. And I want enjoy the same benefits as everybody else. I want to feel valid 100 percent of the time."
Florida might be a tad closer to making couples like Suze and KT feel at home. The state's 2013 legislation session includes a bill finally granting civil rights protections against discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity, and another that will create a statewide domestic partnership registry.
Gays are the harbinger of cities and states that will be attractive to the so-called "creative class." If gays pack up and leave states like Florida (and Virginia) the message is clear: Anyone deemed "other" is unwelcomed. And other states and cities that accept diversity will be only too happy to put down the welcome mat for refugees seeking to escape hate and bigotry.
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