It was early afternoon in Manhattan on the steps of the Natural History 

Museum. I flew in my Mom and my soon to be mother-in-law to surprise my girlfriend and ask her to marry me. She was in New York for the weekend with her high school students. We lured her out and there on the steps, in front of hundreds I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. When she said yes, everyone, strangers and friends alike cheered. It was an unforgettable moment.

Leading up to that moment, I remember conversations about creating a family and starting a new life together – ‘death do us part’ kind of talk. We spoke about love, not about business opportunities or legal contractual rights.  All we talked about was love, family, community, and caring. Actually, I don’t ever recall a conversation about revenue, expenses, employment opportunity or the 1138 federal rights reserved for ‘married’ people. We did not talk about the 400 privileges the State of Florida grants to ‘married’ people. We did not talk about economic prosperity!

Love and Marriage has a lot to do with Business!

As the Executive Director of SAVE Dade, the leading LGBT advocacy organization in Miami-Dade, I’ve come to understand the love, commitment, and responsibility of members of the LGBT community.  I have also seen the important role played by the community in supporting our local economy. You may have noticed. There is a recession going on. Many of our residents are unemployed.  Many of our businesses are having a hard time. So, what does love and marriage have to do with business?

 Marriage and Love is Good for Business (and Love).

We need jobs. We need economic prosperity.  Where are we going to find new, good business that we can bring to the community?  Well, a good place to start would be to attract new industries and companies to set up shop right here in Miami-Dade. Let’s bring some Fortune 500 firms here and create new jobs. Let’s bring these companies right here…right now.

Problem Identified —

Why would we want to discourage large companies from coming to Miami Dade to relocate when they find out that their staff may lose rights and benefits? This is a major competitive disadvantage. Why would we want to ‘turn off’ executives from around the world when they find out that LGBT Americans do not want to move to Florida? Dumb. Why would we want to add new complexity to their relocation decisions when other states are actively recruiting these same companies?

More than half of Fortune 500 companies, in every industry, provide health insurance and other benefits to gay and lesbian employees. Last month, in a letter to the New York State Legislature, top business executives cited, “attracting talent is key to our state’s economic future.” They continued to say that legalizing marriage for gays and lesbians would “help maintain our competitive advantage in attracting the best and brightest people the world has to offer.” As a result, New York is poised to pass marriage equality this month.

As a married, straight man, candidly, it does not make a lot of sense. As the executive director of a LGBT organization, it strikes me as unfair. Marriage is about love, commitment, caring, and community building. But, it is also about jobs, economic prosperity and global competiveness. Let’s make Miami-Dade and all of Florida the #1 place for business by ensuring marriage equality.

CJ ORTUNO
SAVE Dade
4500 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 340
Miami, FL 33137
T: 305.751.7283
www.savedade.org
cj@savedade.org
MDGLCC MEMBER