Amendment to ban gay marriage has challenges

Almost immediately following the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa last April, talk of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage broke out.

Last month, a news release from the Iowa Catholic Conference discussed this as an option, citing individuals' ability to vote “yes” for a constitutional convention in November. The push for a convention has received particular attention this year due to its abnormally high amount of public support, and support from high-profile Republicans.

If a constitutional convention is approved by voters, the next step would be for the Iowa General Assembly to elect the delegates to the convention. This is where I think Republicans run into problems.

Democrats hold a large majority in both the Iowa House and Senate. Many believe the Democratic Party will lose some seats this year but losing their majority seems unlikely.

This means Democrat Mike Gronstal, with other Democrats, would decide who the delegates are. In addition, Gronstal has already shown he is going to protect the court's ruling when he stopped an attempt by Republicans in the Legislature to overturn it. This puts conservatives way behind even before the convention meets.

On top of this, not all Republicans are in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

David Petersen

Iowa City