Legalization, however, means something different for Iowa than for its predecessors. The ruling is destined, for one thing, to reposition the heartland state as more progressive than it's usually perceived, especially by people who have never been to Iowa and dismiss the entire region as "fly-over" territory.
There is also the economic capital: Because legal status is granted only to residents, some are predicting that same-sex couples from nearby Illinois, Wisconsin, or Missouri may relocate to Iowa. Nonresidents can still marry here, and some may opt to stage their weddings in Iowa because it is closer than traveling to the East Coast. As a result of Friday's ruling, Iowa state government stands to see an estimated net gain of $5.3 million each year, according to a report issued last week from the Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law that analyzes the link between sexual orientation and public policy.
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