State Senator Merlin Bartz, a Republican from Grafton, has responded to the ethics complaint filed by former state legislator Ed Fallon over Bartz’s call for county recorders to not issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Bartz released the following statement:
"I have read the formal complaint filed by Ed Fallon and find it without merit. According to procedures set forth by Senate Rules I will submit a formal response to the Senate Ethics Committee within the next ten days.
I fully expect the Committee to dismiss this complaint, thus continuing the tradition of free speech on the floor of the Iowa Senate. It is important that the voices of Iowans are not silenced and a vote is held to determine what constitutes marriage."
See the original story on Fallon’s complaint here .