The country was stunned in 2009 when Iowa’s State Supreme Court ended hundreds of years of discrimination by making same sex marriage legal. Now, in many ways, Iowa is following in the footsteps of California, as the legislature there is working to get a ballot measure to the people in order formally and constitutionally overturn the decision and ban same sex marriage.
Today, the Iowa House resoundingly voted to do just that, with a vote of 62-37, which follows a House Judiciary Committee vote of approval of the measure at 13-8.
The efforts to destroy marriage equality in the state may be stalled, however.
Senate majority leader Michael Gronstal has vowed to block debate of the measure in his Democratic-controlled chamber. A resolution needs to pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature in order to make the ballot.
“The vote today by House Republicans was a big step backwards for the constitutional rights of all Iowans,” said Sen. Gronstal in a statement provided to The Advocate. “I remain committed to protecting the rights of all Iowans and focusing our energy on helping Iowans recover from the national recession.”
The following videos are from public hearings on the matter just prior to the House vote.
