If Republican leaders, even in red states, are serious about luring technology companies into their borders, instead of tax cuts or right-to-work for less pay legislation, lawmakers should focus on legalizing same-sex marriage.
A growing number of technology firms, including Facebook, Apple, and eBay, have signed on to a brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down California's Proposition 8.
Businesses have repeatedly told lawmakers how gay marriage bans are bad for business. A growing number of skilled and educated workers are LGBT. These skilled workers refuse to move and live in states where their civil rights are infringed.
North Carolina is home to Research Triangle Park, one of the largest technology parks in America. It is also in a state that banned same-sex marriage in 2012. As more states legalize same-sex marriage, it puts states with bans in place at a further disadvantage in recruiting talent.
For a same-sex couple to take a tech job in California or North Carolina means entering into a legal battlefield where even the status of the marriage, the benefits, tax laws, family protections, and insurance obligations are at question. Tech firms, many of which operate in North Carolina and California, want the best and the brightest minds, many of whom are not moving to these states.
Overturning Prop 8, the tech firms content, would legalize same-sex marriage in California and help businesses compete for the best talent, regardless of sexual orientation.
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