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This week Iowa Republican lawmakers against same-sex marriage failed, in both the Iowa House and Senate, to force a vote on the issue in an attempt to amend the Iowa Constitution with a ban on same-sex marriage.
In order to become a constitutional amendment in Iowa, a bill must pass two General Assemblies and then be put on the ballot for a public vote, and efforts to pull the resolutions out of the committees and place them on the debate calendar were aimed to beat a legislative deadline to get the bills on the floor this week.
On Tuesday of this week a procedural move to pull a bill out of committee in the House required a 51-vote majority, but that effort failed in a 45-54 vote, mostly along party lines. No vote was taken on a similar Senate Resolution.
Back on April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld the District Court’s ruling holding that there was no important governmental interest in denying citizens marriage licenses based on their sexual orientation, and that denying such rights was unconstituational. This overturned Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Since last year’s ruling, Iowa Republicans have made several attempts to bring a measure similar to DOMA to the floor, but this weeks efforts marked the first formal attempt to overturn the Court’s ruling in this years legislative session.
The failure of this week’s procedural maneuvering means that Iowa voters will likely not see the issue on a ballot until 2014 at the earliest.
According to a poll conducted for the Des Moines Register, a majority of Iowans think the issue of gay marriage doesn’t deserver lawmakers’ attention. 62 percent of Iowans think the issue of same-sex marriage doesn’t deserve lawmakers’ time, rating it below texting while driving, puppy mill legislation, gun control, payday loans and gambling.
My opinion: 62 percent of Iowans are on the right path. I would argue that in two decades we will look back on the issue of same-sex marriage in the same we we look back on women’s suffrage or the civil rights movement.
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- Iowa Lawmakers Reject Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Resolutions (lezgetreal.com)
- Marriage equality safe for now in Iowa and New Hampshire (dailykos.com)
- Iowans not eager to overturn marriage equality (mydd.com)
- Iowa LGBT Group Expects Push For Anti-Marriage Equality Bill Next Week. (lezgetreal.com)
- Iowa Same-Sex Marriage Poll: 92% Say It Hasn’t Impacted Their Lives (huffingtonpost.com)
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I don’t really have a strong opinion on the issue (I honestly don’t know any gays or lesbians). I would probably vote against a ban though because it does seem anti-constitutional. It is cool that Iowa is more progressive on this issue than California. Go Iowa!
"I would argue that in two decades we will look back on the issue of same-sex marriage in the same we we look back on women’s suffrage or the civil rights movement."
It is disgusting how plainly history repeats itself.
But progress is better than nothing. Go Iowa!
I'm really proud of Iowa. There are SO MANY more pressing issues that Iowa and the rest of the country have to deal with right now that it is hard for me to imagine spending time on this. I agree with Collin. This issue is a "non-starter" as I firmly believe that the ability for people to marry whomever they want is a right not unlike any of the others set forth in the Constitution. Plain and simple.
Perhaps this will open the door for a potential buyer of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center who would turn it into a Gay Wedding Chapel – Eddie's ideas for the facility were THE BEST and my apologies for mixing thread content ^_^
I am so proud of Iowa! This is such great news.
Iowans do impress now and then. I do think that this is largely due to the fact that there are a lot of other things to worry about right now. If the economy was zooming along we might still have DOMA.
Yeah! Go Iowa!!
finally discovered somewhere with helpful info. thank you and keep it coming
I'm currently challenging myself to think of an issue where my own point of view might seem ridiculous or out-dated in one, two, three decades time.