NOM BLOG

False Arguments: SSM Advocate Threatens Minnesota with Absurd "Bad for Business" Claim

 

Chuck Darrell, director of communications for Minnesota for Marriage, responds in the Star Tribune to a recent argument used to oppose marriage amendments:

In "The marriage amendment, from all angles" (Jan. 14), Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman of Carlson, a travel and hospitality company, argues that if Minnesota voters pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, talented gay employees will no longer want to work and live in our state.

This is an absurd argument, undercut by the experience of her own company, the trends of gay population in our state and plain old logic.

Carlson's premiere brand is the Radisson Hotels. Of the 108 Radisson locations in the United States, 70 of them -- fully 65 percent -- are located in states with a marriage protection amendment similar to that proposed in Minnesota.

Another Carlson brand is Country Inn & Suites. Of the states it has chosen to operate in, 67 percent have a marriage amendment in their constitution.

Sixty-four percent of all their 40 Country Inn & Suites properties are in states with a marriage amendment. And 86 percent of their Park Inn by Radisson properties are located in states with a marriage amendment.

Obviously, Carlson is thriving in states with marriage amendments. There is no reason to conclude they would not continue to thrive in Minnesota.

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