"There was a lot of psychological and physical energy that I was investing in just living my day-to-day life, because I had to defend myself against anti-gay sentiment and rhetoric," said Lisa Forest, who with her wife, Anne Marie Willer, had good jobs and owned their home in the Dallas area. But in 2006 the couple left Texas for Massachusetts.
"[We] were taking too large of financial and legal risks remaining there as strangers, legally," Forest told the Journal.
Local observers see the influx of same-sex couples as a boon for the state's economy.
"Since the marriage law passed, we see a lot more (gay) professionals moving into the Boston area," said Henry Hoey, a board member of the Greater Boston Business Council, a chamber of commerce for gay professionals, told the Journal. The organization's membership has increased 5 percent to 1,100 members since last year. "The effects of this law are starting to take hold."
Inclusive Recruitment, a Boston-based staffing firm that places gay professionals in welcoming workplaces, has noticed an increase in same-sex couples who have moved or are planning to move to the state.
"There's a woman that I'm working with right now because she came to Massachusetts so her marriage would be recognized," said the company's founder and CEO, Martha Livingston.
The state's same-sex marriage law provides businesses with a unique competitive edge, notes the Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
"Massachusetts has a reputation for fairness both generally and in the specifics that it offers gay and lesbian couples, especially those with children who are concerned about raising their kids in a place that supports their family and protects their legal rights," Carissa Cunningham, director of public affairs at GLAD, told the paper.
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