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NORTHERN IRELAND, September 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Nearly thirty companies from and outside Northern Ireland have signed a letter calling on the province to recognize same-sex “marriages” within its borders.

Organized by the left-wing Amnesty International UK, the letter argues that redefining marriage is an economic necessity.

“A diverse, outward-looking and inclusive society is essential to create a vibrant and competitive economy and a prosperous future for Northern Ireland,” it claims. “Equality contributes to an environment of creativity and excellence where our LGBT staff feel able to bring their whole selves to the workplace and where their relationships will be respected.”

Signatories include Allstate, Axiom, the Bank of Ireland, Citi, Coca-Cola, IBM, Liberty Mutual Insurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sodexo, and more.

“Without full legal recognition of same-sex marriages retaining and attracting talent can be difficult,” Rainbow Project director John O’Doherty claimed. “The brain drain from Northern Ireland is a recognised fact and it is important that we reflect upon all of its causes, not least of all the fact that Northern Ireland remains the only part of these Islands not to recognise equal marriage.”

The “brain drain” is a common talking point among pro-LGBT activists. The province has no laws stopping employers from offering their own incentives to homosexual employees, however, and pro-family advocates argue that any debatable economic benefits to are more than outweighed by the cultural harm done by redefining the family and diluting marriage’s link to child-rearing.

Both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland recognize same-sex “marriage,” with Northern Ireland being the lone holdout (the province remains a holdout on abortion, as well). Belfast’s high court ruled last year that Northern Ireland did not have any international “human rights” obligation to redefine marriage.

It remains to be seen how long that will remain the case, however; Sky News found in April that 76 percent of poll respondents answered that it “should be legal,” whereas just 18 percent answered that it shouldn’t.