同性婚姻合法将为美国经济带来多大的利好？

    6月26日，美国最高法院以5比4的票数裁定，全美50个州和华盛顿特区的同性婚姻合法。这一裁决很可能将为美国商界带来经济实惠。

    《华盛顿邮报》去年刊发的一篇文章估计，如果同性婚姻在全美各州获准，未来三年可能创造26亿美元的额外收益。该文章援引了加州大学洛杉矶分校法学院威廉姆斯研究所的估算结果，预计此类收益大部分将来自加州、纽约、马萨诸塞、宾夕法尼亚、伊利诺伊和华盛顿等州。

    比如，加州估计有超过5万对同性伴侣，其支出可能在4亿美元左右，可为地方政府创造3100万美元的税收。

    全美婚庆产业的规模预计超过510亿美元。

    美国同性恋商会的两位创始人贾斯汀·尼尔森和钱斯·米歇尔在一份声明中讨论了美国最高法院的裁决，不过他们认为，同性群体争取平等的斗争远未结束，“本次大法官们肯定了婚姻自由乃宪法赋予的权利，全体美国人都应享有，对此大多数美国人都将逐渐理解。”

    尼尔森还在声明中写道：“本次裁决可以视为一场胜利，但本商会及遍布全国的42家分会都很清楚，同性恋、双性恋及变性者（LGBT）平权运动必须再接再厉，争取更多平等权利，特别是在保护LGBT人群免遭歧视方面。”

    尼尔森指出：“在企业和政府供应链中，努力工作的LGBT企业主依然受到歧视；在全美28个州，人们都可能因为不是异性恋而丢掉工作、被逐出家门，以及在餐厅和商店里无法享受正常服务。这些都是不可接受的。”（财富中文网）

    译者：Pessy

    审校：夏林

    The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today in favor of legalizing gay marriage throughout all 50 states of the U.S. as well as in the District of Columbia. And the decision may prove to be an economic boon for business in the country.

    In an article last year, the Washington Post estimated that the decision could prove to be a $2.6 billion economic windfall in the next three years when passed across the U.S. That figure, which was calculated by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, sees the majority of its money coming from states including California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Washington, the publication reported at the time.

    For example, California calculated that over 50,000 gay couples in the state were expected to spend about $400 million, along with $31 million in local tax revenue.

    The wedding industry in the U.S. is estimated to be worth over $51 billion.

    Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell, co-founders of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, discussed the ruling in a statement, but said the fight for equality is far from over. “The Justices have affirmed what a bipartisan majority of Americans have come to understand: the freedom to marry is a constitutional right that is guaranteed to all Americans.”

    “While recognizing this as a victory, NGLCC and its 42 affiliate chambers across the country understand that the LGBT movement must harness this momentum to secure greater equality, especially nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Americans,” Nelson added in a statement.

    “It’s unacceptable that hardworking LGBT business owners still be discriminated against in corporate and government supply chains and that LGBT people can still be fired from their jobs in 28 states, evicted from their homes, or denied service in restaurants and shops simply for being who they are,” he said.