A resolution which sought to amend the
Iowa Constitution to ban gay marriage has died in the Iowa
Legislature.
Friday was the last day lawmakers could
act on Republican Senator Dennis Guth's proposed resolution.
“Iowans have been swindled out of
their rights and marriage has been redefined right under their noses
without their say,” Guth told Senate colleagues. “Don't continue
to let your constituents be duped into thinking that there is a law
on the books that redefines marriage, because we do not have any
properly voted on law.”
Directing his remarks to Senate
leaders, he added: “I call on you to bring the marriage amendment
out of committee and allow it to be debated on the floor so that the
people of Iowa can vote on the definition of marriage in this great
state.”
But neither the House nor Senate
assigned the measure to a committee before Friday's self-imposed
deadline.
Social conservatives have been
promoting the Iowa Marriage Amendment (IMA) since 2009, when the
state's Supreme Court unanimously struck down a law which prevented
gay couples from marrying.
In 2010, lawmakers in the
Republican-controlled House approved the amendment. But the effort
has been blocked in the Senate by Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, who
easily won re-election in November despite a high-profile effort to
defeat him.
Guth's resolution has 17 co-sponsors
and remains eligible for consideration next year.