It's the economy, stupid

There's still a week to go before same-sex marriage becomes legal here in California and already we've put more than eight homo weddings on our calendar for the upcoming months.

Nobody knows exactly how many couples will rush to tie the knot over the next five months before voters here have the chance to strip California's gay citizens of their newly won right to get married by amending the state constitution. The numbers could be huge, considering couples from some other states such as New York will be able to get married here and be recognized back home.

A study released today by the by the Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law predicted that more than 50,000 California gay couples and another 68,000 out-of-state couples will wed over the next three years, if the amendment proposition is defeated in November.

That translates into a lot of cakes, rings, catered parties and registrations at Crate & Barrel. This article says the impact would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the state's economy.