Pat Murphy, a former speaker of the
Iowa House and a current congressional candidate, has said that in
releasing its 2009 ruling legalizing gay marriage in Iowa, the state
Supreme Court asked for extra security.
The 53-year-old Democrat made his
comments during a campaign event.
Murphy said that he knew how the court
was going to rule based on the fact that the court had asked for
extra trooper protection.
“The reason we knew was the Iowa
courts asked for extra state trooper protection,” Murphy said.
“And [Senate Majority Leader] Mike [Gronstal] and I discussed it.
And Mike said, 'Well what do you think they're calling for?' I said,
'Well Mike I don't think they're expecting a bunch of gays and
lesbians to be storming because they didn't get their Supreme Court
ruling.' I said, 'I think it will be the far right.'” (The video
is embedded on this page. Visit
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Social conservatives did react angrily
to the decision, though their response did not include physical
violence.