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Loading ...New threat to gay marriage in Iowa
04.10.2009 1:19pm EDT
(Des Moines, Iowa) Iowa Republicans were foiled in two bids Thursday to force the state House to take up a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
The moves came as more than 200 protesters demonstrated at the Capitol demanding action to overturn the Iowa State Supreme Court ruling gay and lesbian couples can marry. Many of them later moved into the public gallery in the HouseAs Republicans tried to force a vote, supporters of the anti gay marriage amendment in the crowd shouted, “Let us vote.” The GOP move was ruled out of order. But later in the day, Republicans attempted to attach the amendment to a money bill. That two was thwarted.
But despite the setback for gay foes, conservatives say there is still a way they can kill the state Supreme Court ruling – through a Constitutional Convention.
Once every decade, Iowa voters can decide whether to hold a convention. The question is scheduled to go on the ballot in November 2010 and needs only a simple majority.
Conservatives believe that if a Constitutional Convention is approved, they can convince delegates to vote for an amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.
If voters approve holding a convention, and if enough delegates can be convinced to amend the constitution, the question could be put to voters in a special election, possibly in 2011.
Last week, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that a state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was unconstitutional. The court also discounted civil unions as an alternative to marriage.
The Supreme Court decision means that gay and lesbian couples may immediately obtain marriage licenses and be allowed to marry under Iowa law in 21 days.
Here we go again. These hate-filled people just can’t stop, can they. I hope we in the GLBT community can pull together to put a stop to this before Iowa becomes another California.
As I have feared, the Far Right is not giving up. I hope this article will be distributed and read by everyone and that we must not rest on our laurels and be too busy patting ourselves on the back to realize that the battle is far from over.
This should not come as a shock to anyone, our enemies don’t play by the rules and we should learn to expect such behavior. Instead of being shocked, horrified, paralysed into inaction by the hideous acts of domestic terror perpetuated against us, we should act and act proactively and preventatively. And we have no moral obligation to play nice, no should we. When our rights are at stake, and we’ve clearly won the argument, we should never fear to play dirty with those who play dirty with us.
By any means possible, we should fight to secure marriage equality in Iowa. And we need people in other states to join in the battle as well, because our movement is international in scope.
I still hate how a majority can eliminate minority rights. California… and now Iowa??? How many marriages MIGHT this affect in two years?
Ummmm, perhaps we can fund research for the straight gene, and seek to eradicate IT? (just kidding) These people are like dog poo in the park, they hang around and STINK forever….. NOW to arms everyone!
These homophones are just to much
How much they hate us! But gay people should remember it really is possible to defeat this sort of effort to overturn a constitutionally established right to same-sex marriage. We did it here in Massachusetts. The rightwing fought very hard to take away our right to marry, but ultimately we won. It was very hard, and very close, but we did it.
Hate and bigotry knows no boundries especially when one can use twisted biblical scripture for justification. And add to that the aspect of a closed, sealed, brainwashed mind you are in a no win situation.
BTW, I also agree that we MUST stop calling it “Gay Marriage” and refer to our right as “Marriage Equality” not only is it more ACCURATE, but it also makes it more palatable for the ones we are trying to win over to our side on the matter.
The ones who coined this idea are perfectly correct!
by 2011 – thousands of LGBT people will have married….thisbetter get straightened out and soon! Im sick of these [jerk] Bigots & Buy-Bull beaters.
Why can’t these self-righteous, self- proclaimed better-then-thou do gooders just mind their own business and their own marriages and leave other people alone? This is not about them, nor is it about their religious hocus pocus. This is a civil issue, why can’t they get it through their thick skulls? Wanda Sykes said it best “if you don’t believe in Gay Marriage, then don’t marry someone of the same sex”!!!
Since when do we let the oppressive majority vote on the rights of the oppressed? If we did it today, many groups would find themselves without the rights and protections the courts granted them years ago. Many of them are the same people who would take our rights away…
Arcane Procedure’s ‘R Us anyone?
Ridiculous and a waste of time and effort. -.-’
Calm down, people.
2 Things.
1. It’s ‘too’, not ‘two’ in the first paragraph. Illiteracy is an ugly thing.
2. A Constitutional Convention CANNOT BE CALLED OVER A SINGLE ISSUE. It can lead to ANY and ALL revisions of the state Constitution…..
So – as the Democratic Leader of the House said, they can also add unrestricted abortion rights, legalize marijuana, or any number of OTHER changes that the people support…..
In fact, yesterday he WELCOMED such a threat – saying that it is a bluff they would NEVER actually follow through on, since the number of DEM issues that a simple majority could also have added would completely undermine the GOP in a variety of areas.
So – again – calm down.
@ Ginelle
The reason they can’t get it through their thick skulls is BECAUSE they are exactly as you described them. We need to work to get the ones who have a few brains on our side in order to defeat them.
I also believe that people are sheep, you need a lot of herders to get them going in the right direction (it also means that the human race – for the most part – is INCREDIBLY stupid!)
We will have to WORK for what we want.