That Whole Push to Ban Same-Sex Marriage In Iowa Is Losing Steam

Marriage equality became the law of the land out there in Iowa way back in ’09 and ever since then the GOP has been crying, and foot stomping, and pouting, and threatening to put a halt to all that equal rights, civil rights nonsense. But, the trouble is, nowadays most Iowans don’t really care if The Gays get married or not.

And now, that Republican push to build up enough political clout to overturn the law may be waning as public opinion moves away from the GOP on the same-sex marriage issue. There seems to be some thought that, today, even if the GOP could put a same-sex marriage ban on the ballot, most Iowans would vote against it.

This shift—which isn’t much of a shift because most Iowans, even back in 2009, weren’t overtly against marriage equality as they have a kind of ‘live and let live’ mentality—is a bitter disappointment for Iowa's Christian Republican Conservative Homophobic coalition.

Susan Geddes, an Iowa Republican who campaigned long and hard—and failed—for Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign is one of those Iowans who is not pleased there isn’t more hate in the state:  "People are getting comfortable with it and that's a shame to tell you the truth."

Oh Susan, you moron, ‘They’ aren’t more comfortable, ‘they’ just understand what equality means.

And even some Republicans are softening their views on same-sex marriage, saying the support for more libertarian Republicans—as in Ron Paul and The Paulette’s—who oppose restrictions on personal freedoms has made the issue less prominent now, even in conservative circles. It seems maybe they are becoming aware that the tide is changing.

Still, if the GOP wins just two more seats in the state Senate, they can move to end marriage equality, though the legislative process would take at least two years. Add to that the fact that public interest in the cause is already declining because, well, the public has other things to worry about, like jobs and the economy and those pesky wars we’ve been fighting since the W Regime. According to a new Des Moines Register poll some 56% of Iowans opposed an amendment to ban same-sex gay marriage; and that number is up from earlier years.

Which may help to explain why GOP Senate leaders no longer list that whole marriage equality ban high on their agendas, though they do continue to promise to “support” such a ban if Iowa would only elect them. And, well, color me shocked, but there are some Iowa Republican politicians—like former county Linn County chairwoman Kathy Potts—who have recently have announced support for gay marriage.

"If it weren't for the loud voices of a few in our party, I do believe more Republicans would stand up in support [of gay marriage],” said Potts.

Well, those folks need to stop listening to the voices in their heads and the voices in their pulpits and realize what ‘all men are created equal’ really means.

via ABCNews