The financial services industry applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide on Friday.
Many of the biggest financial institutions in America praised the court’s decision while activists acknowledged that the sector had led the way for the broader business community on the issue.
{mosads}”We applaud today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, which will help families across the country, make it easier for businesses to hire and keep talented people, and promote both economic growth and individual freedom,” Goldman Sachs said in a company statement.
Citigroup called the decision “an example of progress.” Bank of America tweeted that it was “another step forward for human connections. Congratulations to all.”
And Visa hailed the ruling by using a spin on its popular mantra “accepted everywhere.” The company Tweeted: “Love. Accepted everywhere.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is the dominant business organization in Washington, did not release a statement, even though it has been a major force on other issues such immigration reform.
“The Chamber does not engage in social issues so we have not put anything out on this case,” Chamber spokeswoman Blair Latoff Holmes said.
Experts note that the financial industry has for a long time recognized the spending power of gay and lesbian people. In fiscal year 2014 alone, the LGBT community had a spending power of $830 billion, said Joshua Charles, founder of Financial-360, LLC.
“The big players are genuinely interested in helping their clients, and this is a group for whom they can help create a financially secure future,” said Charles.
Robert Shapiro, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said that businesses recognized an untapped market before many politicians.
“In an economy defined by increasingly harsh global competition, no large business can write off 5 to 10 percent of potential employees,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said that “the potential cost among customers is considerably greater, since many millennials see gay rights and marriage equality as threshold issues — you have to agree before they’ll even consider you.”
Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, director of social policy and politics at center-left think tank Third Way, said lawmakers across the country saw how influential the business community could be on the issue earlier this year in Indiana.
Businesses threatened to boycott and pull out of the state after lawmakers passed legislation that critics said would allow for companies to discriminate against gays. Amidst the political firestorm, Gov. Mike Pence (R) was forced to
tweak the legislation to ease concerns.
“It wasn’t just a few businesses — it was big businesses,” said Hatalsky, who is also president of Q Street, the professional association of LGBT lobbyists and public policy advocates. “Business was way out ahead of the country on this issue.”
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