More same-sex St. Louis couples coming to Iowa City to wed

IOWA CITY - Iowa City as a destination wedding location?

It's becoming one for same-sex couples from the St. Louis area.

St. Louis organizers who brought 17 same-sex couples to Iowa City in May to be married are bringing 15 more couples on Friday.

The bus carrying the couples is to arrive in Iowa City at noon. They'll pick up their marriage licenses from the Johnson County Recorder's Office and then have wedding ceremonies at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City, according to a news release. They'll celebrate afterward at a downtown restaurant. 

Missouri does not recognize same-sex marriages, but Iowa does after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled in April that the state ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Ed Reggi, who organized the trips and is founder of the group Show Me No Hate, estimated the first trip generated $5,000 for the local economy.

“I know it's not about money, but the money we are spending in Iowa is Missouri's loss,” he said in a statement.

I couldn't find the story of the first weddings on our Web site, so I copied the text from our archives. The story is from May 2 and can be found below. 

IOWA CITY - Their walk down the aisle was short, but their journey toward marriage was long.

Seventeen same-sex couples from the St. Louis area traveled more than 250 miles to Iowa City on Friday to wed -- something their home state of Missouri won't allow.

One by one, in a 90-minute-long ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City, each couple was joined together in a marriage officially recognized by the state of Iowa.

“It feels great,” said 58-year-old Mike Fienup, who married his partner of 15 years, Gerry Humphreys. “We're citizens. We pay taxes. Why can't we be treated equal?”

That's a question the Iowa Supreme Court answered with its unanimous decision April 3 that the legislative ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. That decision took effect Monday, and same-sex couples started applying for marriage licenses.

Iowa does not have a residency requirement for couples applying for a marriage license.

Ed Reggi, 37, organized the trip. He chose Iowa City, rather than stopping just across the border because of the city's liberal reputation.

A bus full of engaged couples, clergy, family and friends arrived at the Johnson County Recorder's Office just after 11 a.m. They had turned in their applications for marriage licenses earlier in the week, so, by Friday, they'd waited the required three days to get married and didn't need waivers.

They picked up their licenses and went to the Unitarian Universalist Society on Gilbert Street, where the Rev. Benjamin Maucere said, while choking up, that he'd done a lot of commitment ceremonies but thought he'd have to go to one of the coasts to do an official wedding for a gay couple.

“Iowa rocks,” he said to cheers.

Religion has played a big role in the same-sex marriage debate, with some saying homosexuality is condemned in the Bible. But Rabbi Susan Talve, who came from St. Louis to perform some of the weddings, said her congregation takes a different view.

It is probably not acceptable for two straight men to have sex, but it is OK for two gay men to be together, she said.

“We think that what the Bible is saying is that people need to follow their nature,” she said.

Talve married Reggi and his partner of 10 years, Scott Emanuel, 40. Emanuel said Iowa has been very welcoming, with people contacting them to see if they could help.

“I guess it's icing on our wedding cake, really,” he said.

Josh Schamberger, president of Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he hopes Friday's event was the first of many destination same-sex weddings for the area. His organization has formed a committee that is working on a gay and lesbian advertising campaign.

“Because of this ruling, we do have an opportunity that just about everywhere else in this nation doesn't have, so we're pretty excited,” he said.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled. After the court ruling, U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican representing western Iowa, said the state would become a “mecca” for gay marriage, which he didn't mean as a good thing.

But the Missouri couples raved about Iowa and drew sharp comparisons to their home state, where voters in 2004 amended the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

“For me, what the message I'm sending to Missouri is, there're certain things you can't deny me, and you can't deny me a marriage to my wife,” said Kimberly Banks-Brown, 38.

She considered herself to have been married three years ago to Kim Coleman in what some call a commitment ceremony but what Banks-Brown called a wedding. She said they were in Iowa City to renew their vows.

Reggi said Missouri's Constitution won't deny him his marriage.

“I just wanted people to know when we get back that it is legal,” he said. “It's just not here (in Missouri).”