Prop. CORN – the inevitable ballot initiative against gay marriage in Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday with a unanimous decision overturning the state’s previous ban restricting marriage to a right reserved to a man and a woman.

“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective.”  Iowa lawmakers have “excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.”  To issue any other decision, the justices said, “would be an abdication of our constitutional duty.”

As a cynic, I will admit this ruling is significant in that it reverberates from the so-called conservative “heartland” of the country.  Decisions in Massachusetts and California have been dismissed as less than momentous because they are liberal, “fringe” states.  Before the Iowa decision, simple right-wing talking points marginalized the home state of Ted Kennedy and the Hollywood west coast as being on the periphery of mainstream America.

Hold on you gay and happy Hawkeyes, “Corn fed and ready to wed!” is just the beginning.  Marriage licenses will be available for purchase in about three weeks, but rest assured just as in California, those legal documents will have an expiration date.  Gay rights opponents have already begun lobbying Iowa state legislators to let the people of Iowa vote on a constitutional amendment. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, said state lawmakers were unlikely to consider gay marriage legislation in this legislative session, which is expected to end within weeks, and he’s not inclined to propose a constitutional amendment during next year’s session. Amendments to Iowa’s constitution must be passed by the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies, each of which last two years, and then approved by a simple majority of voters during a general election. That means conservative opponents might not see a legislative initiative until 2014.

That’s five years…five years could mean every gay couple in Iowa in wedded, legal bliss, and of course the next progressive step, half the cows and pigs.  Five years could mean an uncontrolled immigration of corn consuming gay residents to Iowa.  Without a border fence, Iowa could be the interior design and hair dressing capital of the mid west.  Fearing just that, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged the state legislature to act, saying he feared without residency requirements Iowa would “become the gay marriage mecca.”  The fearful, intolerant and uniformed people will act.  An Iowa ballot proposition push as in California’s Prop. 8 is surely the next forceful tactic by opponents targeting the legislature.  Who knows, Prop. Corn could be the next kernel of fundraising propaganda for the Mormons, Focus on the Family, and the governor of Alaska’s 2012 presidential run.

My hope lies with the independent minded people of Iowa. Iowa has a history of being on the forefront of social issues. The state was among the first to reject slavery, legalize interracial marriage, and to allow married women to own property. It was also the first state to admit a woman to the bar to practice law, and was a leader in school desegregation.  Now is the time to continue the tradition.  It’s time to tighten up the old corn belt and reject the outside influences of religious intolerants who want to funnel funds and hatred into your state.  The quest for social change and a hope for a better America began at the Iowa Caucus of 2008.  Demonstrate to the doubters that you are not among the proclaimed lunatic fringe.  Times have changed, and Iowa represents not only the mid-west, but also the middle of the political spectrum.  The “heartland” should not be merely a slogan on a license plate, but a land of courageous and compassionate heart where the rights of the individual supercede the desires of an intolerant few.  Iowa, reject the conservative cries for a quick and emotional reaction.  If not, you will surely dine on a steady diet of outsider prepared Prop. Corn for years to come.