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Report: Marriage equality would add $2 million to Wyo. economy

Report: Marriage equality would add $2 million to Wyo. economy

Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Wyoming would generate an estimated $2.4 million in spending to the state’s economy, according to a new study.

wyomingResearchers at the Williams Institute, an independent think tank at UCLA’s School of Law, estimates that — based on 2010 U.S. Census data — 657 same-sex couples live in Wyoming. Of those couples, the Institute estimates that 50 percent (329 couples) would choose to marry in the first three years, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Over 211 marriages would occur in the first year alone, and bring over $1.6 million in revenue to the state of Wyoming that year.

“This study confirms that all Wyomingites benefit from marriage for same-sex couples, not just the LGBT community,” said study author, M.V. Lee Badgett.

In March, Wyoming Equality, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, and four same-sex couples filed suit seeking to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The full study is here.

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