The court correctly decided to uphold the ban even though it shouldn’t have passed in the first place.

In a general election, the majority of California voters decided they didn’t want to officially refer to same-sex unions as marriages. Gay couples can still be in civil unions, which provide all the same benefits of marriage and are recognized by the state. The only thing Proposition 8 banned was calling the union between members of the same sex a marriage. Literally, this proposal was about a word.

California is considered one of the most liberal states in the country, so a portion of its populace likely isn’t happy with the decision. It seems that California voters take the word marriage very seriously, but a majority would prefer it not be used for civil unions.

There’s no reason the Supreme Court should have to overturn that.

But it doesn’t mean protesters in the state of Michigan can’t be upset about the result of this decision. California was supposed to set the trend for gay rights and be one of the first states to give same-sex couples every right married couples enjoy. Michigan voted to outlaw same-sex marriages in the state in the 2004 election, so maybe if California’s courts could overturn their election, our state could overturn ours. Unfortunately for the gay rights movement, and even the state of Michigan, the results were upheld.

Michigan could gain a lot if it reversed the 2004 election results. Massachusetts has recognized gay marriage and is seeing a considerable financial boom in its state economy. Allowing same-sex marriages brings in an estimated $37 million per year to the state. That is a small amount when compared to Massachusetts’ overall state budget, but the state didn’t have to put up much of its own money to see this kind of return. It’s practically free money.

The state can get money from things like marriage licenses, and the local economy gets a boost from the out-of-state tourism money. Forbes magazine even estimated that, if it’s applied countrywide, legal gay marriage would provide more than $16 billion to the wedding industry alone. And those estimates don’t even take long-term gains into consideration. Michigan has the opportunity to bring in a large number of people with disposable incomes that are looking to settle down for good. If the social gains of gay marriage aren’t enough to bring about legalization, then maybe the financial ones will be.

All Michigan would have to do is let them have a word.