Same-Sex Marriage & the Economy
Same-sex Marriage and the Economy
To begin, I would like to discuss the basics. The institution of marriage is the foundation of the family and of society. Even though it is a private institution, it has been controlled by society, depending on the specific time and history, religious perceptions, legal rules or customs, and norms. According to historical legal readings, marriage has been viewed as a heterosexual union, same-sex relationships are excluded from the definition of "marriage". Same-sex relationships have not been legally recognized in most countries and, as a result, homosexual partners are denied many of the legal and economic privileges automatically granted with marital status. Only recently, some countries have become more open to grant rights for same-sex couples, but the justification is rather on egalitarian than on economic grounds. The aim of this essay is to examine the economic benefits that states would receive if they legalized same-sex marriage. It will be argued that there are hardly any reasons not to legalize it. Yet, tradition and social values might make it more desirable to let the relationship be recognized under a different name than “marriage”: a domestic partnership. The benefits gay and lesbian couples are granted when their union is legally recognized greatly outweighs their private benefits. They not only experience incentives to form a long-term union, but might also profit from a reduction in the social stigmatism of homosexuality. The benefits concerning legalizing same-sex marriage, which might be perceived as costs, and the costs, which might be perceived as benefits, will be examined.
In the United States today, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender citizens are denied 1,138 rights that everyone else is allowed to have. The economic benefits of gay’s having rights would be huge. Since marriage is a $70 billion dollar industry, having gay marriage legal would boost our economy $17 billion more dollars. An average
To begin, I would like to discuss the basics. The institution of marriage is the foundation of the family and of society. Even though it is a private institution, it has been controlled by society, depending on the specific time and history, religious perceptions, legal rules or customs, and norms. According to historical legal readings, marriage has been viewed as a heterosexual union, same-sex relationships are excluded from the definition of "marriage". Same-sex relationships have not been legally recognized in most countries and, as a result, homosexual partners are denied many of the legal and economic privileges automatically granted with marital status. Only recently, some countries have become more open to grant rights for same-sex couples, but the justification is rather on egalitarian than on economic grounds. The aim of this essay is to examine the economic benefits that states would receive if they legalized same-sex marriage. It will be argued that there are hardly any reasons not to legalize it. Yet, tradition and social values might make it more desirable to let the relationship be recognized under a different name than “marriage”: a domestic partnership. The benefits gay and lesbian couples are granted when their union is legally recognized greatly outweighs their private benefits. They not only experience incentives to form a long-term union, but might also profit from a reduction in the social stigmatism of homosexuality. The benefits concerning legalizing same-sex marriage, which might be perceived as costs, and the costs, which might be perceived as benefits, will be examined.
In the United States today, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender citizens are denied 1,138 rights that everyone else is allowed to have. The economic benefits of gay’s having rights would be huge. Since marriage is a $70 billion dollar industry, having gay marriage legal would boost our economy $17 billion more dollars. An average