When your point of view is rejected, the only thing to do is boycott. That's the feeling many political activists take when a ruling, election or even public opinion doesn't go their way. While it's a perfectly legal and American thing to do, a planned boycott of the Utah lodging industry couldn't come at a worse time for the state or its tourism business.
There's a nascent movement afoot to do just that among some Californians disgruntled over the results of last week's election that outlawed same-sex marriages in the state. The loosely formed group is targeting Utah because Mormons and members of the church were heavy contributors to the fight to pass the measure. In retaliation, these activists are calling on sympathizers to avoid travel to Utah.
Should the movement gain traction, the state's ski industry, which is just opening for the season and which draws a healthy portion of its business from the Golden State, will suffer.
During the late 1980s, a protracted boycott of Arizona over its refusal to honor Martin Luther King Day as a holiday hurt the state, especially in its efforts to land big-ticket events like the Super Bowl.
No matter how you feel about the same-sex marriage issue, it will be a shame if those owners and employees of tourism businesses in Utah suffer for actions they may not have been part of.
Interestingly, yesterday Bill Marriott wrote in his blog about the issue. He pointed out that Marriott is a public company not controlled by one individual or family and even though he is a Mormon, neither he nor the corporation contributed to the campaign to ban gay marriages in California.