State Legislature may call on feds to pass marriage amendment

A proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman has been introduced in the United States Senate, and the Speaker of the Iowa House says the Iowa legislature may formally call for Congress to approve that measure. The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that a state law barring same-sex marriage violates that state’s constitution and has ordered Massachusetts legislators to change the law. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says that’s worrisome. Rants says the U.S. Constitution forces states to recognize contracts from other states, and that includes marriage contracts. Rants predicts Iowa will be among many states where the Legislature passes a resolution calling on Congress to change the U.S. Constitution and add a “defense of marriage” amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. A few years ago, the Iowa Legislature passed and Governor Vilsack signed a law which says the only legally-recognized marriages in Iowa are those between a man and a woman. Rants says while Iowa has a “defense of marriage act” on the books, a lot of folks are concerned the state might have to recognize same-sex marriages that’re legalized in other states, like Massachusetts.