Iowa’s congressional delegation split in Tuesday’s vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Congressmen Steve King, Tom Latham and Jim Nussle — all Republicans –voted in favor of an amendment to the U.S. constitution that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The push to let states start ratifying the proposed amendment failed, though, by 47 votes.
Iowa Congressmen Jim Leach, a Republican, and Leonard Boswell, a Democrat, voted against the constitutional ban on gay marriage. Iowa and 43 other states either have state laws or amendments to their state constitutions which declare the only legally-recognized marriages performed in those states are marriages between a man and a woman.
In June, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage failed to garner enough votes in the U.S. Senate. Iowa’s Republican Senator, Charles Grassley, voted for it while Iowa’s Democratic Senator, Tom Harkin, voted against it.