The group “One Iowa” organized a small rally to mark the upcoming one-year anniversary of gay marriage in Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 3rd of last year which legalized gay marriage. Carolyn Jenison is executive director of “One Iowa,” a group which has run television advertisements supporting the ruling.
“Thousands of Iowans have lent their support to the decision using their voices, their names, their time, their passion — to advocate for equality,” she said. Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, is the only openly-gay member of the Iowa legislature.
“I’ve watched the futile efforts by those who would have you believe that marriage equality would unravel the moral fabric of society,” McCoy said during today’s rally. “Quite to the contrary, marriage equality has not impacted Iowans negatively.” About two dozen people turned out for the event, held outdoors on a sidewalk between the Iowa Capitol and the State Historical Building.
“One Iowa” is hosting a number of other events, too, across the state over the next week to mark the April 3, 2009 decision. On Friday afternoon there’ll be a panel discussion at the University of Iowa College of Law and one of the panelists will be an attorney who represented the gay couples of filed the lawsuit that led to the Iowa Supreme Court decision.
Last week, gay marriage opponents held a rally on the statehouse steps, urging key legislators to reverse course and allow a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Iowa. About 30 people who attended that rally spent two-hours praying in a capitol conference room beforehand.