Adam Candeub and Mae Kuykendall are law professors at Michigan State University in Lansing.  The two have been researching an interesting new way for states to issue marriage license.  They’ve proposed that states allow people to apply for marriage licenses online, dubbing the proposal “eMarriage.”  Candeub told NPR:

What we’re arguing for is that states should formalize in their laws what they’ve always been doing in smaller degrees in specific areas, which is, allow people outside their states to use their laws.

The proposal would allow couples in any state the ability to go online and download their new marriage license from a state which recognizes same-sex marriage and prevent the unnecessary costs and expenses associated with same-sex marriage tourism.  In that, lies the problem for Christopher Diebel, founder of MyIowaGayWedding.com, and others using same-sex marriage laws in their states to corner the market. According to Mr. Diebel:

Those of us that are involved in that industry are certainly going to want to protect our investments and the business that comes to our state.  And frankly, we would all believe that our state deserves to have that income brought into it for being at the forefront of this fight and leading the way.

Same-sex marriage advocates have often invoked the argument at the state level that recognition of such marriages would result in a “tourism” market and bring additional income to the area.  The proposal by Candeub and Kuykendall, if successful, would effectively make the argument moot; however, the debate of the issue certainly lends credibility to the argument that same-sex marriage is a money maker for states.

The proposal is still being tweaked; however, according to Candeub and Kuykendall, it is gaining momentum.  The duo are prepared to advise any legislator about the process in an effort to “extract their state from the culture wars of same-sex marriage.”

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