Gay marriages to begin in Iowa on April 24th

[TWiley]

By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press Writer – 34 mins ago
DES MOINES, Iowa – Gay marriage, seemingly the province of the nation's two coasts, is just weeks away from becoming legal in the heartland and apparently it will be years before social conservatives have a chance to stop it.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman. Now gays and lesbians may exchange vows as soon as April 24 following the landmark decision.

The county attorney who defended the law said he would not seek a rehearing. The only recourse for opponents appeared to be a constitutional amendment, which couldn't get on the ballot until 2012 at the earliest.

"I would say the mood is one of mourning right now in a lot of ways," said a dejected Bryan English, spokesman for the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage.

In the meantime, same-sex marriage opponents may try to enact residency requirements for marriage so that gays and lesbians from across the country could not travel to Iowa to wed.

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged the Legislature to do so, saying he feared without residency requirements Iowa would "become the gay marriage mecca."

Only Massachusetts and Connecticut currently permit same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November.

Full Story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_us/iowa_ga...

[exboyfil]

1. I will take their tourist dollars

I already pay lots of state taxes and a little added tourism in the form of couples getting married is alright with me. Hopefully that could help avoid additional income tax increases in the state.

Being a "Mecca" is not a bad thing.

How are the "Full Faith and Credit" decisions going down? With two states already doing it, it seems the cat is out of the bag already.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. You mean EQUAL marriage

I have never heard discussion about "straight marriage" as a distinct institution, have you?

[sundog]

3. "marriage equality" is a term that many seem reluclant to use

especially in the media

because in the end, it's simply about equality - no more or less



it's always about "gay marriage" - i think cause it sounds so scary

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. I think it is because...

"Gay marriage" makes it sound like a special right or something. Otherwise, you are right: it is about equality.