I don’t know if gay people find this patronizing (so let me know my gay peeps and I’ll stop) but Smyrna Delaware is in desperate need of a thriving gay population. According to this kos diary – it seems Iowa is thinking the same thing.
Iowa Democrats have long argued that making the state more tolerant will help the local economy. Today the Des Moines Register has two articles on the possible new economic benefits coming to the only gay marriage state without a residency requirement.
Unlike Connecticut and Massachusetts – the other states that permit gay marriage – Iowa has no nearby competitors for same-sex couples who want to marry.
Businesses could see $160 million in new wedding and tourism spending over the next three years, according to a study from researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles.
…The study predicts that 2,917 same-sex Iowa couples will wed in the three years after the marriages are allowed to proceed. In addition, nearly 55,000 out-of-state couples could come to Iowa to get married, the study found.
Iowa: Housing is cheap, schools are great, and Democrats run the show.