GOP Congressman: Iowa could become 'gay marriage Mecca'

Muriel Kane Published: Friday April 3, 2009
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In the wake of a decision by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down a ban on same-sex marriages, that state's Republican Congressman Steve King expressed alarm at the prospect that the state might become a "gay marriage Mecca."

King and his fellow conservatives are now pressing for an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage.

"It is the Iowa legislature's responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, clarifying that marriage is between one man and one woman," King stated. "Along with a constitutional amendment, the legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court’s latest experiment in social engineering."

ThinkProgress points out that King has a long history of anti-gay remarks. He has voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, insisted that "homosexual marriage is not a civil right," and compared gay marriage to unicorns and leprechaums as things that "just don't exist" in Iowa.

King's chances of overturning the court's ruling entirely do not look good. The court's decision was unanimous, based on the principle that "the county has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification for excluding plaintiffs from the institution of civil marriage."

In addition, as the Los Angeles Times points out, passing an anti-gay marriage amendment in Iowa will be far more difficult than it was to pass Proposition 8 in California: "Changing the Iowa constitution requires that a proposed amendment be approved in two consecutive state legislative sessions before going to the voters. At the earliest, voters could overrule the Iowa high court's decision in 2012. California's same-sex couples had a six-month window to get marriage; Iowa's will have several times' that."

"I'm fascinated to watch this story play out," notes reporter Dan Gilgoff at US News, "because it doesn't seem like there's anywhere for religious conservatives to go with their outrage. Is there a productive outlet for the anger that I'm overlooking?"