Does marriage equality mean economic prosperity? Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee thinks so.
In an op-ed in The New York Times titled “Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law,” Chafee goes beyond the usual “I believe in equality” argument to say that it’s an economic imperative to support marriage.
“Rhode Island was badly battered by the recession of 2008, but we are moving in the right direction,” Chafee argues. “Jobs are the only way forward — we need to keep the ones we have, and we need to create new ones. There are good signs — our unemployment rate has just undergone the largest yearly drop since 1985 — but one needless obstacle to our recovery remains. Rhode Island is part of a highly regional economy, with the other New England states and New York in constant competition with us for innovative companies, and particularly for the young, open-minded individuals who are close to the heartbeat of the new digital economy. In our small cluster of states, it is relatively easy for a company or a person to cross a border seeking a more favorable climate. And in recent years Rhode Island has been an outlier among our surrounding states: we are the only one prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying.”
Chafee has been in front on marriage equality for a while. When he was in the U.S. Senate, he was one of a handful of senators who supported equality, and the lone Republican. First, he lost his seat because Republicans are almost extinct in the Northeast, and then he left the party because he was too moderate. He’s an independent now.
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Chafee is making a more politically palatable argument because, after all, governors are all about jobs. Given the U.S. lingering high unemployment rate, might we suggest that it’s time to go nationwide with marriage equality? After all, what’s good for Rhode Island, should be good for the rest of the country.
GayTampaCowboy
I hope more Governor’s READ his op-ed piece! Even if SCOTUS overturns prop 8 and finds DOMA unconstitutional, that won’t change the fact that there are more than 2 dozen states with constitutional Prohibitions of same-sex marriage. And, the ONLY way those states will change their law will be due to one thing and one thing only – MONEY!
daniwitz13
In other words, you put money above logic and understanding The economy and Govt. is driven by People. No People, no economy and no Govt. right? So what is the Formula for People? Only the Male/Female Formula makes People. Pure logic. Homosexuals are not only redefining Marriage, it is redesigning Nature. Pity.
LadyL
@daniwitz13: Don’t you have a Nazi rally to attend somewhere?
Gregg
Problem with Gov “Twitt” Chafee: he bases ALL his decisions in public office on
popular opinion, in this case, of the bluest State in the USA. He never lets
principles or Constitutional rights interfere with the latest Gallup Poll! Therefore
our rights under a Chafee Administration will always be at the mercy of the next
opinion poll. Consider his self-instigated imbroglio last December. You only have
to rename “same-sex marriage” “Christmas tree” for Gov. Chafee to veto it!
LandStander
@daniwitz13: “No People, no economy…Only the Male/Female Formula makes People.”
So you assume that if they allow gay marriage 100% of the population will suddenly come out as gay, and there will be no more babies? Are you going to stop having straight sex when gays can get married? No, you are not. And neither are all the other straight people. Also, if “homosexuals are redesigning nature” then how come homosexuality has been observed in over 1,500 animal species (and counting, as we observe more).
Nice try though 🙂
Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui
Lasciviousness and licentiousness conspired to force same-sex marriage legislation on civil society. Debauchery hails its promulgation.
Same-sex marriage couples selfishly demand “Marriage Equality”, yet, in return, they offer LESS-THAN-EQUAL protection of the child’s happiness than can be afforded through the presence of both biological parents. In the name of “Marriage Equality”, same-sex marriage leaves the child fully aware that his family is, in all truth, not at all “equal”, natural, nor complete. The use of the term “Marriage Equality” by same-sex marriage proponents selfishly ignores the child’s perspective of “equality”.
Same-sex marriage couples profess that it is love which gives the right to join the institution of marriage, yet, in doing so, they selfishly violate the principle LOVING objective of this noble institution; to protect a child’s Natural Right to be raised by both biological parents.
Those who take part in same-sex marriage are well acquainted with the Laws of Nature which they ought to follow, but they see themselves as their own judges leaving their whims and passions left unchecked, and they understand no obligation to contain themselves within the limits of that regard and respect which they owe to civil society, the tranquility of families, and the happiness of children. They deem themselves the arbiter of their own actions, pridefully announcing the right to being the judge themselves, both of Natural and Civil Laws, and of the manner in which they ought to apply them. This independence and excessive liberty must only be productive of disorder and confusion anytime there happens to be a clashing of their interests and passions with civil society.
Many homosexuals and their supporters today are the vicious oppressors of liberty. They are the malevolent bigots driven by their own prideful prejudices into seeking vengeance; whether it be by slandering anyone with whom they disagree by labeling them a “homophobe”, demanding the criminalization of anyone who refuses them service, mandatory indoctrination of our youth by the State, or the destruction of religious charities and institutions; their agenda violates the very maxims of Natural Law leaving them only the tyranny of legislative oppression as their ONLY justification.