Study: Same-sex
marriage would boost N.J. economy

New Jersey wedding services, including florists, caterers, and hotels, would bring in more than $100 million in revenue per year if the state were to pass a bill permitting same-sex marriage, according to a study released Wednesday by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The study figured that the state's couples would spend an average of $9,000 on their weddings while couples from other states would spend upward of $4,200, depending on travel costs.

While the legislature passed a bill Thursday that would establish civil unions for gay couples, the Associated Press reports that nearly 70,000 couples would travel to New Jersey for a wedding ceremony over the next three years, the study showed.

Currently 45 states have laws or constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage. Massachusetts is the only state that grants marriage equality for same-sex couples but only for residents and those whose states would recognize the ceremony. (The Advocate)