Iowa Poll: Republican primary voters want gay marriage on ballot
- www.desmoinesregister.com June 6th, 2010
A large majority of Iowa Republican primary voters say Iowans should have a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, according to the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.
More than three-quarters of Iowans planning to vote in Tuesday’s Republican primary say Iowans should have a chance to vote on changing the constitution specifically to ban gay marriage.
But the same consensus does not exist for ousting Iowa Supreme Court judges who voted last year to invalidate Iowa’s statutory ban on same-sex marriage.
And one-third of the poll respondents say that some Iowans have overreacted on the issue, and that gay marriage in the state is just not that big a deal.
The issue erupted in April 2009, when the state high court unanimously struck down the 1998 law. Since then, leaders in the Democrat-controlled Legislature have blocked debate on a constitutional amendment. Iowans can vote on a constitutional amendment referendum only after the Legislature passes a resolution allowing it in two consecutive General Assemblies.
Knoxville Republican Jackie Sharp is like most primary voters: She wants to vote, but does not see gay marriage as the top issue this year.
“I wouldn’t get out and march in a parade or anything, but it’s supposed to be a man and a woman, and I think we should at least get to vote,” said Sharp.
Sharp is among 45 percent who do not think voters should oppose the Iowa Supreme Court justices up for retention in the November election.
“That’s going a little too far,” Sharp said.
Half of primary voters say Iowans should vote to remove the justices, the poll shows. Republican candidate for governor Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City has urged voters to block the retention of justices this fall.
Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit are up for retention votes this year.
The poll of 501 likely primary voters was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines Tuesday through Thursday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4percentage points.
