An effort by Republicans in the Iowa state legislature to debate a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage failed last week. The amendment will likely not be debated at all this year since it could not advance through the House Judiciary Committee by March 7th, the deadline for getting on the current session’s calendar. The Republicans attempted a seldom-used maneuver to hold a floor vote to move the stalled proposal out of committee, but the Democratic majority in the Iowa House blocked the attempt by a 50-46 party line vote.
Before the vote, the leading Republican in the Iowa congress warned:
“We have to do it now, or this issue is done,” House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, a Sioux City Republican, said Monday. “We’re going to see gay marriages take place in Iowa. Iowa’s going to be sort of the Las Vegas of America, because we have no residency requirement and we’ll have people from all across the country coming to Iowa to get married.”
As Iowans we are used to being the butt of “country hick” jokes and have developed a pretty thick skin. But to be compared to Las Vegas? Mr. Rants was playing Republican hardball with that. But the Democrats in the house weren’t as insulted as Rants hoped they would be.