Florida Agenda

DES MOINES, IA – The state capital was awash in same-sex marriage events this week, and both sides were wellrepresented. On Tuesday, the Family Leader, a conservative Christian organization, held a rally in the Capitol Rotunda which was meant to convince the state Senate’s Democratic leaders to allow a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit marriage equality.

Same-sex marriage is legal in the Hawkeye State, after a 2009 state Supreme Court decision invalidated a state law barring such marriages. Since then, conservatives attempted to write a ban into the state constitution. Iowa’s Republican-led House approved such an amendment last year, but it has stalled in the state Senate. A constitutional amendment requires lawmaker approval of the proposed amendment in consecutive legislative sessions before it is then put to popular referendum.

One Iowa, an organization that advocates marriage equality, likewise held a rally on Tuesday, which featured speakers in support of same-sex marriage, including members of Iowa Republicans for Freedom, a GOP group that favors marriage equality, and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.

DES MOINES, IO – According to the Des Moines Register, Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad’s appointment of State Senator Swati Dandekar to the Iowa Utilities Board has threatened the state’s Democratic majority in the Senate. It’s a move that has marriage equality groups concerned the Democrats’ one-seat majority in the Iowa Senate could be eliminated, opening the door for a gay marriage ban.

The special election to fill the seat being vacated by Sen.

Swati Dandekar of Marion is in a district that has more Republican registered voters than Democrats. If Republicans win, the 50-seat Senate in 2012 will be evenly split. The special election is set for November 8.

DES MOINES, Iowa –

 When voters go to the polls, many do not focus on the people running for various city, county or state justice positions. Some leave those contests blank or choose the name they like the best. Prior to 2010, only four judges had not been retained since 1962 in elections in Iowa, and zero of them were on Iowa’s Supreme Court, according to American Judicature Society. That all changed this year when three of Iowa’s Supreme Court Justices were ousted out of office, thanks to an influx of spending cash from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group that’s only purpose is to keep marriage between one man and one woman.

Iowa Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit did not receive the 50 percent vote needed to keep their seats. These three justices had voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage in the state in 2009. The three justices issued a joint statement in defeat.

“We hope Iowans will continue to support Iowa’s merit selection system for appointing judges. This system helps ensure that judges base their decisions on the law and the Constitution and nothing else.

Ultimately, however, the preservation of our state’s fair and impartial courts will require more than the integrity and fortitude of individual judges; it will require the steadfast support of the people.”

NOM President Brian Brown was proud of the work he and his team did in Iowa.

“This election, we want Iowans to know that their values and their votes matter,” Brown said. “They need to know where these Justices stand, and unfortunately they stand on the idea that as Justices they are elite and are above the scrutiny of the people’s voice. Our opponents claim there is no such thing as an activist judge, but these judges have substituted their own values for the values of working families in Iowa.”

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, the politician who was pro-LGBT rights, lost his election for another term to Gov.-elect Terry Branstad, who in July told The Des Moines Register that there would be sufficient political pressure to force a vote on a marriage amendment.

DES MOINES, IA:

Governor Chet Culver stood up for his state’s gay marriage law during a debate with his Republican rival, Terry Branstad. Asked whether same-sex marriage has had an impact on the state, Culver insisted, “It has not had an effect on the state of Iowa, other than allowing people to make their own decisions. …We should not write discrimination into the Iowa Constitution.” Republican Terry Branstad disagreed and insisted that Iowa voters should be given a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage.

Same-sex marriage was approved by the state’s Supreme Court in 2009.