Tourism industry split over civil unions' effects (StarAdvertiser)
The debate over whether Hawaii should allow civil unions has divided the community for years.
The expected signing today by Gov. Neil Abercrombie of Senate Bill 232, making it legal for same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter a civil union, is now creating factions within the state's visitor industry and business community regarding how best to gain economic benefits from the measure.
There's no question that the legislation, which goes into effect Jan. 1, opens up business and tourism opportunities for the state and affords members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities the right to mark their unions with a legally binding ceremony. After Iowa's gay-marriage law went into effect last year, the state saw tourism gains from same-sex couples, their supportive friends and the so-called "creative class" that prizes diverse destinations. Travel and business writers from USA Today to the Chicago Tribune and Travel & Leisure magazine mentioned Iowa — once better known for its corn industry — in their coverage of the same-sex destination boom.
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Complete article at Star Advertiser : http://bit.ly/h7AFLq
