Good news out of Iowa. The Democratic Senate majority leader is going to prevent the civil rights of gay Iowans from being put on the ballot.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said he intends to block efforts in the Iowa Legislature next year to refer a gay marriage ban to voters.This is fantastic news and allows the trend lines to keep moving in our favor, while younger more moderate voters take the place of their older more conservative counterparts. It is nice to have take a stand for equality.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Gronstal said he knows his stand against letting voters decide whether to amend the Iowa Constitution to ban gay marriage could hurt him with some constituents, but he was willing to take the risk. Gronstal made a similar commitment during the last legislative session, which began shortly after voters removed three Iowa Supreme Court justices after a campaign against them that focused on their role in a unanimous 2009 decision that found a ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution.
"I'm not going to put discrimination into the state's constitution," said Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs.
