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Dec. 31, 2013, 2:45 PM EST / Source: MSNBC TV

By Steve Benen

Florida does not want same-sex couples to get married there. Florida does want same-sex couples to spend their honeymoon dollars there.

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Thanks to a flurry of activity over the last several months, marriage equality has now expanded to 17 states (18 if we include Utah), up from 12 earlier this year. But while Americans now have equal marriage rights in a third of the country, discrimination still reigns in the other two-thirds – including Florida.

By most standards, the Sunshine State is an odd duck, and as Mark Joyella reports today, its approach to marriage equality is no exception.

In a state known for its splashy White Parties and a Key West New Year’s Eve that features the ceremonial lowering of a drag queen named Sushi in a giant red pump, nobody figured Utah would get marriage equality first. “Utah was a huge surprise,” said Mikael Audebert, president of MBA Orlando, Central Florida’s LGBT chamber of commerce. “Florida is still an unknown.” There are, of course, two Floridas. There’s the one that’s known for South Beach and Wilton Manors, and that’s the state Nate Silver projects will, by 2016, hit 53-percent of voters supporting a same sex marriage ballot initiative. Then there’s the other Florida. This is the Florida that looks much more like Alabama and Georgia.

The interesting twist, though, is that there aren’t many areas in Alabama and Georgia reaching out to the LGBT community on a national level, urging same-sex married couples to honeymoon in their states.

Parts of Florida, however, are doing exactly that. In fact, Equality Florida, a group fighting for equal marriage rights in the state, recently published a financial analysis that concluded Central Florida alone is poised to lose out on $154 million in tourism dollars over the next three years because the state continues to discriminate against same-sex couples.

To that end, MBA Orlando, Central Florida’s LGBT chamber of commerce, is launching a marketing campaign, intended to encourage same-sex newlyweds to honeymoon in Orlando. The advertising will include “in-store messaging in Macy’s stores in the states that have passed marriage equality.”

The nuances of the pitch are bound to be interesting. After all, there’s an inherent awkwardness to a pitch that says, “Come to Florida: You can’t get married here, but you can spend money here.”

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Editor's Note

Come for sunshine; stay for discrimination

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

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