Iowa conservatives promise to continue gay marriage focus

Conservative leaders have promised to make gay marriage a central issue in next year's legislative elections and governor's race, and they're considering a push to oust the Iowa Supreme Court justices whose ruling legalized same-sex unions.

Iowa Christian Alliance President Steve Scheffler said his group will focus first on lobbying lawmakers during the legislative session that starts in January to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage. Legislators who don't support that effort could find themselves facing opponents recruited and financed by the alliance, Scheffler said.

"We're going to encourage people, especially in key legislative races that are going to be competitive," Scheffler said.

Gay marriage has been legal in Iowa since April after a unanimous Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling that found a state ban on same-sex marriage violated the Iowa Constitution.

To amend the Iowa Constitution and overturn the law, lawmakers in two general assemblies - formed every two years after a general election - would have to approve a resolution that would then go to voters. If lawmakers approved it in the next legislative session and in 2011, the issue would go to voters in 2012.

But Democrats who hold majorities in both legislative chambers resisted taking up the matter last session, and if they do the same in the session that starts in January, the earliest the issue could reach the ballot would be 2014.

"I don't see it as likely we get to this issue in the next session of the Legislature," said Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs.

Gronstal said lawmakers are under enormous pressure with a projected shortfall of nearly $1 billion in the state budget, and they've already decided to shorten the next session to 80 days to save money. That rules out debate on a lot of issues, he said.

Despite Gronstal's long-standing opposition to taking up gay marriage, Bryan English, spokesman for the socially conservative Iowa Family Policy Center, said his group hasn't given up and plans to lobby legislators, including Democrats from more conservative districts.

"Everyone has their pressure point, and Mike Gronstal has a majority he wants to maintain," English said.

The issue also has come up in the governor's race, with some Republican candidates making gay marriage a focal point of their campaigns and accusing others of not being as committed to overturning the law. All the Republicans seeking the nomination oppose same-sex marriage and have criticized Democratic Gov. Chet Culver for not pushing to put the issue before voters.

Among the most outspoken has been Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, who has said if he were governor, he would issue an order blocking enforcement of the Supreme Court decision. Culver's office has said such a move would be illegal.

State Sen. Jerry Behn, another Republican candidate for governor, has taken another approach, calling for voters to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices who will be on the ballot in 2010.

Under Iowa's system, judges are appointed through a merit-selection process, then voters decide whether to keep them in office. Supreme Court judges are up for retention every eight years.

Behn, of Boone, has argued for replacing Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Associate Justices Michael Streit and David Baker when they come up for retention next year.

Other conservatives said they haven't decided yet whether to join Behn in the effort, which would be difficult given how rarely voters opt not to retain judges.

"That's a monumental task," said English, of the Iowa Family Policy Center. "There's a lot of anger across the state over what the court did and our current effort is to simply allow the people of Iowa to vote on marriage."

Scheffler, of the Iowa Christian Alliance, took a similar approach.

"We don't know for sure what we're going to do with judges," he said. "We haven't made a definitive decision on what we're going to do yet. We'd like to get involved."

-- Associated Press