By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
Governor Lincoln Chafee appeared alongside CNBC host Suze Orman on "MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts" Thursday morning. The pair talked with Roberts about the economic and social impacts of same-sex marriage in Rhode Island.
Chafee explained to Roberts that the House of Representatives had passed the marriage equality bill in Rhode Island 51-19, but prospects for the bill in the Senate would be “a little closer” due to the number of swing votes.
The Governor has pledged to sign the bill should it go on to pass the Senate.
Chafee has been a proponent of same-sex marriage not just for its social impacts, but because he believes it’s a major economic factor.
“If we want to grow our economy in Rhode Island, [passing same-sex marriage] is a good way to do it,” Chafee told Roberts Thursday.
Orman said there is a plethora of financial inequalities that same-sex marriage couples face that their heterosexual counterparts do not.
“The truth of the matter is, we’d need an hour or two to talk about all the financial inequalities that exist,” she said.
Orman said there are social security, estate tax and income tax implications that negatively affect same-sex couples.
“[There are] all kinds of ways where straight couples get [financial] breaks; homosexual couples do not,” said Orman, “Which in the long run costs the economy, because money that’s going into extra taxes…could be going into the economy to benefit everybody.”
Orman said in 2013 there should not be any type of inequality anywhere: financial or emotional. Additionally, it’s not just same-sex couples that are negatively being affected by this — it’s the economy as a whole, she argues.
“Everybody financially, in my opinion, is being hurt by this, not just gay couples,” she said.
Chafee agreed, and said since Rhode Island has the nation’s highest unemployment rate and a lagging economy, passing same sex marriage would be a step in the right direction.
“If we’re going to be competitive we’ve got to get this passed,” he said.
Chafee also said he hopes work will get done on the federal level to fix the “mistake” of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Supreme Court is slated to take up next month.
Chafee was participating in a panel discussion moderated by Orman at New York University on the topic of the economic harms of marriage inequality. The panel was sponsored by the Respect for Marriage Coalition.
