Gay Marriage Laws to Generate Spending

PORTLAND, Maine - A national think tank says new gay marriage laws in Maine, Maryland and Washington will generate at least $166 million in wedding spending in the next three years.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that nearly 18,000 same-sex couples in the three states will exchange vows in the first three years after the new laws are in effect.

Wedding-related spending for in-state couples is expected be about $16 million in Maine, $63 million in Maryland and $89 million in Washington. The estimates do not include out-of-state same-sex couples that travel to those states to marry.

Lee Badgett, research director at the institute and an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, says the additional spending will create new jobs and boost tax revenues.