Same-sex marriage opponents push for amendment

DES MOINES - Hundreds of advocates for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage crowded the Capitol rotunda Tuesday where they prayed, sang and rallied before lobbying lawmakers.

The effort is likely the last big push this legislative session by groups who want the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The Republican-controlled House passed the legislation last year.

If nothing is done, the bill will expire at the end of the legislative session.

“I feel the Lord is leading me toward this issue,” said George Ann Cleaveland of Boone, who wore a red luviowa.com sticker on her shirt. Luviowa.com is the web address for the conservative Christian Family Leader's marriage amendment campaign.

“It's something He hates,” Cleaveland said. “We are to stand up and be a representative of the Lord for people who stand against His will.”

State police estimated the crowd at between 200 and 250 people.

Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, said the argument he wants lawmakers to hear is “Let the people of Iowa vote.”

Both chambers must approve a ballot question for a constitutional amendment before it goes to voters. Before the rally, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he has no plans to call the measure for a vote and believes passing such an amendment would put discrimination in the constitution.

Vander Plaats was joined by leaders from the National Organization for Marriage and CatholicVote.org. Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said the vote to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage was a historic event.

“Guess what? You changed history,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “We were born for this.”

The speeches inspired 19-year-old Cody Rouse of Des Moines, who attended the rally with his Des Moines church group, to get more involved in politics. “I'm not always up on all of these issues, but being here, it's exciting. It shows me that I should be more a part of it,” he said.

The rally also inspired a counter rally on the south steps of the Statehouse led by One Iowa, a gay-rights group that opposes the amendment.

“Iowa is a wonderful place to live. We are proud and blessed to live here,” said Tammy Steinwandt, who lives with her wife, Melanie Muth, in Solon. The couple has been married for three years, and Steinwandt said they were the first lesbian couple to be wed in Cerro Gordo County, which is where they lived before moving to Solon.

Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who joined the women and the One Iowa gathering, said Vander Plaats is using same-sex marriage as a way to try to regain political standing. Vander Plaats has run for the Republican nomination for governor three times and has never won.

“The truth needs to be told. Bob Vander Plaats needs to get a real job instead of working on spreading a message of hate and discrimination,” McCoy said.