Openly gay Iowa State Senator Matt
McCoy was called “chief sodomite” by his opponent Dave Leach at
an anti-gay marriage rally.
The
rally held Sunday at the Statehouse was sponsored by the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), the group behind measures that
repealed gay marriage laws in California and Maine.
NOM is touring 23 cities to support
marriage as between “one man, one woman.”
McCoy, who has served four terms in the
state Senate, has
the endorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a group
that supports openly gay elected officials.
“McCoy has been instrumental in
promoting equality across Iowa for years,” the group said in its
endorsement. “When a ban [on] marriage equality was proposed in
2005, Republicans controlled the state Senate – without Matt's
eloquent advocacy, many onlookers believe the ban would have passed.”
According to the
Iowa Independent, Leach was at the NOM rally handing out
fliers for his campaign against McCoy.
“I am running against Iowa's chief
sodomite,” the 64-year-old told the paper.
Leach owns and writes for the Prayer
& Action News, a social conservative newsletter, and is
behind the website The
Partnership Machine. The Village Voice called Leach a
“cheerleader for violence” for his fierce opposition to doctors
who perform abortions.