Gay marriage bans lead to economic boosts

So much for the theories of the "creative class."

Our friends at www.VeritasRex.com published an interesting post indicating that the gay marriage ban SJR-7 would be a boost to Indiana's state economy. That prompted me to research the eleven states that banned gay marriage in 2004.

Below are links to charts that indicate the eleven states (Michigan being the lone exception) experienced an economy upturn following 2004 as measured by increased employment.

Let's have a look at the hard numbers of states that banned gay marriage in 2004.

Note the increase/decrease of both employment and unemployment in these states. (Click on the state name to view employment data.)

Arkansas
Georgia
Kentucky
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Ohio
Utah
Oregon

With the exception of Michigan, the eleven states that banned gay marriage in 2004 experienced an upsurge in their economies as measured by employment vs unemployment.

The charts indicate a dramatic upward movement beginning in 2004.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/30/politics/main646662.shtml