The idea of letting gay couples get married in this country has gained traction slowly over time, and there have been plenty of potholes, detours and orange cones along that road.
But we find ourselves on a completely different road than we were in 2004, or even 2008. Businesses are folding faster than Superman on laundry day and nobody seems to want to spend any money, preferring instead to sock it all away in a buried can of Folger's dark roast.
The good news is, our rainbow brothers and sisters may have a solution to this problem. And like President Obama told Gov. Crist yesterday, when your house is on fire, you grab the nearest hose and give it a good yank until the fire's put out.
... What? Oh, grow up.
Right now, there are bakers, grocers, event planners, jewelers, stationary stores, dressmakers, formal wear designers, travel agents, photographers, party supplies stores, liquor stores, live entertainers, florists and limo drivers who are hurting for money, and our gay brothers and sisters have to keep it in their pockets because they can't get married in a big, economy-stimulating ceremony.
What's the problem here? Their money isn't gay.
A UCLA study reported on in 2008 held that allowing gay marriage could have given California a $370-million hot cash injection.
What's up, California? Your state is flat broke. You're furloughing workers now. There are weddings not being planned now, and money not being spent.
Listen to these reactions from back when it looked like gay marriage was going to be legal in California:
"Being in West Hollywood, we’ve been inundated," said Tom Rosa, owner of the Cake and Art bakery on Santa Monica Boulevard. "After the ruling, the phone really picked up."
Rosa said couples who had waited for decades to legally marry were splurging on 5-foot tall confections shaped like carousels and cakes featuring handcrafted birds of paradise.
Mike Standifer and Marc Hammer were already planning a commitment ceremony for October, but when the court ruling came out, they decided to throw an even bigger bash and get married.
You don't hear words and phrases like "splurging" or "bigger bash" these days, do you? But we sure could use some.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, legalizing gay marriage from sea to fabulous sea could net the country a $1 billion increase in revenue!
Jeepers H. Crackers! I bet you didn't know inequality could be so expensive.
Now that the country is bleeding jobs and money, the question is no longer should we legalize gay marriage, but can we afford not to?I don't think we can. What's better for the economy and jobs than a big, splashy party that gives dozens of people jobs to do and costs the average couple as much as $35,900 a pop?
And think what it could mean to the states themselves, many of which are going deeper into the red. Marriage license fees, increased state and local revenue, wedding and honeymoon tourism. That's jobs, that's money.
Forget your half-assed moral objections. Forget your selfish bedroom politics. If there's one thing we can all agree on is we need more jobs and more money!
Sometimes the right thing to do is also the financially clever thing to do. This is one of those times.
Get smart. Go pink and get some green.
Legalize it.