Over one thousand people gathered outside a church in Des Moines on Sunday to rally in favor of an amendment to the state’s constitution that would ban gay marriage. The rally comes on the heels of a statement issued by the Iowa Catholic Conference supporting the amendment to Iowa’s constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Tom Chapman is the executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference. Chapman says they’re trying to make a positive statement on marriage between a man and a woman and they think the amendment is the best way to do that in Iowa. Chapman says the recent court ruling that legalized gay marriage for a short time in Iowa prompted the action.
Chapman says they took a look at the court ruling and the state of law in the state and decided the amendment was the best way to protect the marriage law in the state.The Iowa Catholic Conference is made up of the four Catholic Bishops, as well as advisory board members from several areas of the church.
Chapman says the bishops sent out the statement to “help educate Catholics on the issue and will encourage them to reflect carefully on this issue.” Chapman says the bishop’s advice is that the amendment is the best way to support marriage, and asks them to act on it by contacting legislators. Chapman says the marriage issue was one part of the 2008 legislative agenda approve by the Iowa Catholic Conference. You can find out more at the conference’s website . The gay marriage ruling is currently under appeal.