Businesses Glum Over Same-Sex Wedding Demise

Just one week before the elections, the floral shop owned by Christopher Burnett had filled out many orders for same-sex weddings he is currently preparing for in the past five months. He had eight corsages, one dozen boutonnières and two lovely bouquets for the brides along with three dozen roses each. But with the voter approval of Proposition 8 (which amended the recognition of marriages that were only made between men and women), the future he sees for his business has lost its hopeful spark. Burnett notes that he has been doing an average of one gay wedding each week, so for him it is quite disheartening to actually absorb this news and brace the eventual slow down of his business.

More Disheartened Business Owners Over Proposition 8 Announcement

Many California business owners – especially those deeply rooted in the business of marriage – had been busy assessing how many products (wedding cakes, rental tuxedos, gowns and floral arrangements) would be left untouched because of this decision. As a manager of Kard Zone in the traditionally gay neighborhood of Castro, Arthur Cobos mentioned he has been very successful in his business thanks to the wedding cards and trinkets that are of the same-sex kind. At present, he has recently been forced to stop stocking goods for this line. Many of them were very afraid that Proposition 8 would come to pass, and that was what had actually happened.

Other Cities Affected By Proposition 8 As Well

The gay-friendly city of Palm Springs also experiences some gloomy atmosphere as a result. It's Mayor, Steve Pougnet, recounts how he had performed over one hundred and fifteen same-sex weddings ever since June of this year. Some weddings even had as many as one hundred and eighty guests. But at present, the entire city had ended up canceling eight ceremonies which they had originally planned to perform. This, according to Mayo Pougnet, has a huge economic impact on their city – and they would continue to feel the pinch during these difficult times. Mayor Pougnet is an openly gay man who had recently married his partner last September. Proposition 8's approval came at the time when the state is truly feeling the pinch of the economic situation. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that such a proposition could further impede the economic grounds of the state and eventually worsen its already swollen budget deficit.