Gay Weddings are Good for Business

Everyone loves Ellen DeGeneres.  I remember when I was an undergrad and she came out on the cover of Time magazine.  Her career took a little hit after the announcement but she has such a winning personality, it was only inevitable that she'd charm America all over again.

When Ellen legally married Portia de Rossi in California in 2008 and their wedding was on the cover of People magazine, it was a giant step forward for the gay community.  And when they went on Oprah recently to talk about their relationship and marriage equality, it was another step towards equality.

This great article by Frank Bruni talks about the contrast between Ellen' and Portia's Oprah interview and the recent vote down of gay marriage in Maine. 

This is what happens when gays and lesbians get married.  If the couples is generally a likeable pair, telling their friends, neighbors, colleagues and families about their wedding makes it more mainstream.  

And as the article concludes, "[Ellen and Portia] look like countless other newlyweds. Then again, not."

What did you think of Ellen and Portia's celebrity gay wedding?

It's heartbreaking that gay marriage was defeated in New York yesterday.  There are about 50,000 same-sex couples in the state.

A quick recap of what happened over the past year and a half:

• In March 2008, Governor Elliot Spitzer resigned amid a scandal and David Paterson takes over as Governor.
• In May 2008, Gov. Paterson issued an order that NY was to recognize legal gay marriages performed in other states.
• In April 2009, Gov. Paterson introduced a bill to legalize gay marriage in NY.
• In May 2009, the NY Assembly passed the gay marriage bill.
• Since then, on numerous occasions, the NY Senate has refused to vote on the bill, until yesterday, December 2, when they defeated the gay marriage bill 38-24.
• Governor Patterson has said that he will not re-introduce the bill unless he feels that its passage is a sure-thing.

Since May 2008, I've worked with a number of gay couples from NY who have come here to Massachusetts to legally marry, bringing their guests and their wallets and giving a nice boost to the Massachusetts economy.

Connecticut has seen an even greater boon from gay couples in NY, since it's the quickest state to get to from New York City. 

I feel terrible for those New Yorkers whose relationship is meaningless in the eyes of 38 members of the NY Senate.  We welcome you to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and soon, New Hampshire, where you can legally marry.

Do you know anyone who was affected by this defeat?  Are they now planning to marry somewhere else?

I was recently in the City of Cambridge with clients and we ran into another same-sex couple planning to marry, one of whom was from Ireland.  As a bi-national couple, their marriage is a risk.  The Federal government law, the Defense of Marriage Act, means that the Irish lass will not receive a green card because of their marriage.  Not only that, but their gay marriage will raise a red flag to the Immigration department that, because of the marriage, the lass may stay in the U.S. past her visa's expiration date and could lead to deportation.

It's an issue of discrimination, pure and simple - and bi-national couples who are considering marriage should consult an experienced immigration attorney before proceeding.

For more information, check out the Warning for Bi-National Couples on GLAD.org.

Do you know any gay couple planning their gay marriage who is encountering this situation?  How did they resolve it?