UPDATE | Supreme Court: Gay marriage now legal in Texas
Anticipation over possible legal marriage for gay couples in all 50 states mounts with every Supreme Court decision day that passes. With the final word days away, Texas stands ready to rake in the love — and the cash.
Gay think-tankers at UCLA’s Williams Institute are excited, too. So much so, during the wait they’re compiling results of past studies and exalting in what a ruling in favor of marriage for gay couples will mean for the country and each of the remaining 13 states that deny marriage between same-sex couples.
Together the 13 states are home to more than 150,000 same-sex couples and would most likely see an estimated 70,034 same-sex weddings in the first three years that it’s legal. Those marriages would bring an estimated $545.8 million economic impact, including $47.7 million in tax revenue.
In Texas, there are an estimated 46,000 same-sex couples. Marriages by 23,200 of them expected in the first three years would bring about $181.6 million to the state, $14.8 million of it in taxes, and create from 523 to 1,570 jobs, according to the Williams Institute.
Even though you may have heard it before, the scope of the numbers really sinks in better when gay marriage reality is an eminent possibility. Maybe the economic boost will dull the pain for haters. Probably not. Oh well.
Here are the full stats from the Williams Institute for 13 states that still ban marriage for gay couples:
