A majority of Iowans do not believe gay
marriage should be discussed by the Legislature, according to the
latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.
Sixty-two percent of respondents told
the paper that gay marriage doesn't deserve the time of lawmakers,
thirty-six percent said it did, and two percent were unsure.
The poll, which has a 3.5% margin of
error, comes on the day that Republican lawmakers are expected to act
on the issue.
Gay rights group One Iowa has warned
that it believes Republicans will attempt on Monday to fish a bill
that seeks to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the Iowa
Constitution out of committee and put it up for a floor vote.
Committee members have not acted on Democratic state Representative
Michael Reasoner's proposed bill that aims to overturn the Iowa
Supreme Court's April 3, 2009 ruling legalizing gay marriage.
The procedural move to pull a bill out
of committee requires a 51 vote majority. Seven Democrats would have
to cross the aisle and vote with Republicans for the procedure to
succeed. At least one Democrat, Reasoner, is expected to do that.
Last year, Republicans made several
attempts to bring a similar measure to the floor. Democratic
leaders, however, managed to block the efforts.
Amending the Iowa Constitution is a
lengthly process that requires the approval of two consecutive
legislative sessions followed by a ballot initiative.
The survey is based on telephone
interviews with 805 adult Iowans.