Report: Gay Marriage Would Bring $15M to Utah

Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.

A new report estimates that legalizing gay marriage in Utah would generate $15.5 million for the state's economy in the first three years.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law bases its estimate on the calculation that about half of Utah's same-sex couples would marry. The report says weddings by 2,000 gay and lesbian couples would bring a windfall of spending by the couples and their friends and family who come for the ceremonies.

A federal judge overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage in December, and an appeals court is reviewing an appeal by the state. More than 1,000 couples married before the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pending the appeals court ruling.

The Williams Institute is a think tank that studies issues related to sexual orientation.


by Jason St. Amand , National News Editor

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