Marriage rights are good for business
A MASSACHUSETTS family can expect to spend 23 percent of its income to send one child to a public university. Skyrocketing housing prices are forcing a future workforce out of the state. Violence threatens the safety of youths and cities.
These issues should be at the forefront of legislative debate and action on Beacon Hill. However, if some activists have their way, the Legislature will instead become mired in yet another battle over the issue of same-sex marriage
We are among 165 business and civic leaders who have signed a public statement calling on the Legislature to end yet another acrimonious battle about who should and should not be allowed to marry in Massachusetts. We represent leaders of higher education, healthcare, financial services, and tourism. We are Democrats and Republicans. And we are united by a simple message: For the good of families, the economy, and society , it is time to move on.
Many of us have not previously taken a public stand on this issue. Why speak out now? As business people, we believe Massachusetts must do everything it can to attract and retain a skilled workforce. As citizens who value democracy, we cannot morally support an ugly and divisive amendment that would enshrine discrimination into our Constitution.
Businesses throughout Massachusetts have long extended equal compensation and benefits to same-sex partners, because it makes sense to welcome all employees with the skills our businesses seek. We need all the tools at our disposal to make Massachusetts an attractive place to live and work for educated and skilled people, no matter their sexual orientation. Yet another acrimonious battle over marriage rights -- driven by national political interests and not the state's best interests -- sends the wrong message.
Each day this summer, thousands of tourists will flock to the Freedom Trail to see some of the historic sights that make Massachusetts proud. The state's long, rich history of protecting freedoms, preserving liberty, and expanding democracy is integral to its cultural and economic foundation. As members of Massachusetts' civic community, it is difficult for us to see how any effort to rewrite the Constitution to exclude a group of people lives up to that legacy.
Marriage is a basic human right. It is undemocratic to put human rights to a vote. Should white Southerners in the segregated South have been allowed to vote on the civil rights of African-Americans in the 1960s? Of course not. The same values apply to the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian citizens of the Commonwealth. Despite this, the subject of same-sex marriage has already been voted on in the Legislature 16 times. Enough is enough. The Legislature should not subject the state to a protracted debate that ultimately distracts it from finding solutions to the real economic and social issues that voters most care about: housing, healthcare, education, and the economy. It's time for Massachusetts to move on.
Mitchell Adams was the state's revenue commissioner from 1991 to 1998. Colette Phillips is president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications. 
