Gay Marriage in Iowa the Political Hot Potato in 2010
- by By Sherry Tomfeld | Published 5/27/2010 www.associatedcontent.com
Wapello, Iowa — On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Varnum v. Brien that state laws prohibiting marriage on the basis of the partners’
gender are unconstitutional. On April 24, 2009, gay marriage or same-sex marriage was put into effect and legal. Now that the race for Iowa Governor is in full swing, will the same-sex marriage issue come to the forefront? You bet, the GOP is not happy with this ruling and there is no reason to think that if a Republican gets into office that they will let it go unchallenged.
The Defense of Marriage Act was signed by Governor Branstad in 1998.
Bill Clinton, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act, said, “I remain opposed to same-sex marriage. I believe marriage is an institution for the union of a man and a woman.” Only to flip-flop on July 8, 2009, in Washington D.C. then Clinton reportedly said: “I personally support people doing what they want to do. I think it’s wrong for someone to stop someone else from doing that [gay marriage].”
Iowans, usually a pretty independent lot, want to vote on gay marriage. If same-sex marriage is going to be allowed, most Iowans think that it should be because a majority of Iowans want it. Not because an agenda was pushed through.
It is doubtful that the re-election of Chet Culver as governor would see this come to a vote of Iowa citizens. However, GOP Bob Vander Plaats is “for a stay on same-sex marriages until the General Assembly rewrites state law or Iowans are allowed to vote on the definition of marriage as one man and one woman.”
Terry Branstad’s website says he supports reinstating the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman by a constitutional amendment, passed by a vote of the people of Iowa as 31 other states have done.
What do Iowa citizens think of gay marriage? Is same-sex marriage something that Iowans want? A 2008 University of Wisconsin poll had the following results:
28% of Iowans support same-sex marriage
30% of Iowans oppose same-sex marriage but support civil unions
32% of Iowans oppose both civil unions and same-sex marriage
