California sees business boom from gay weddings

By Amanda Beck

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday clears the way for gay marriage ceremonies that could bring a business windfall to San Francisco and other cities starting this month.

"The economic impacts will be huge," said David Paisley, a senior projects manager at Community Marketing Inc.

Estimates suggest that gay weddings will pump $684 million into the California economy in three years, said Lee Badgett, research director of the Institute on Sexual Orientation, Law & Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"I think you're going to see tens of thousands of couples and their families descend on San Francisco," Mayor Gavin Newsom said. "People are looking at this as an opportunity to come and support their families, their partners and also the city's economy."

The Supreme Court ruled last month that it was unconstitutional and discriminatory to bar homosexuals from marrying. On Wednesday the same court denied a request to delay the June 17 start of such weddings.

The rulings open the door for California to become something like a gay version of Las Vegas, where straight couples from anywhere can get married.

California will wed any gay couple, regardless of where they live. By contrast, Massachusetts, the other U.S. state where same-sex couples can marry, only weds residents or those from a neighboring state.

'SENSE OF PRIDE'