FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2/11/10 Pleasant Hill, IA – Standing between Iowa citizens and
their right to vote on the Iowa Marriage Amendment, Senate Democrats
this week obstructed efforts to take action on the amendment ahead of
an important legislative deadline. Bills that fail to move out of
committee before the end of “funnel week,” are generally no longer
considered viable for the remainder of the session. While Senate rules
provide options for leadership to take action on items like the Iowa
Marriage Amendment after the funnel, Senate Majority Leader Mike
Gronstal has publicly offered to risk his majority status, and his next
election, to keep Iowans from having an opportunity to vote.
The Republican effort to let Iowans vote on the Iowa Marriage
Amendment this week was lead by Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan. By
inviting the other Senators to sign a discharge petition, Johnson
attempted to bring the Iowa Marriage Amendment to the floor for a vote
over Gronstal’s objection. The petition quickly gained the signatures
of all 18 Republican Senators, along with that of Democrat Senator Tom
Hanckock. As the week wore on, other Democrats began to respond to
calls and e-mails from their constituents. As the funnel closed,
Democrat Senators Black, Kreiman, Olive, and Seng had added their names
to the list. Ultimately, Johnson fell three Members short of the 26
signatures he needed.
IFPC Action spokesman Bryan English responded to the end of this
week’s activity in the Iowa Senate by saying, “Thanks to the hard work
of Senator Johnson and his Republican colleagues, we now have a record
of who really cares about marriage, and who understands that the
Supreme Court is not the lawmaking body of this state. It is blatantly
apparent that in the environment created by last April’s Iowa Supreme
Court opinion, Senate Democrats are not qualified to remain the
majority party.” According to English, “Iowans who support real
marriage are not going away, and if Mike Gronstal would like them to
focus their energy on removing him from the majority, they will be
happy to comply.”
One Member of the Iowa Senate whose signature was glaringly absent
from the discharge petition was Senate President Jack Kibbie of
Emmetsburg. Senator Kibbie, who has on several occasions publicly
declared his support for real marriage, and his willingness to vote for
the Iowa Marriage Amendment, refused to take even the smallest action
to keep his promises. This week, Senator Kibbie chose to side with Mike
Gronstal and the homosexual lobby over the wishes of his constituents,
and an opportunity to preserve the only definition of marriage, by
refusing to sign the petition.
Commenting on the larger implications of the events of the week,
English said, “The battle raging in Iowa over the issue of marriage is
a political reflection of a larger spiritual war that began with
original sin. Anyone who has read the Bible knows that while individual
battles will continue, the ultimate outcome of the spiritual war was
settled long ago by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” He
concluded by saying, “When the current political debate over marriage
is viewed through the lens of eternity, politicians like Mike Gronstal
and Jack Kibbie need to understand that they’ve already lost.”
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CONTACT:
Bryan M. English
IowaFamilyPolicyCenter / Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION
Phone (515) 263-3495
Fax (515) 263-3498
Cell (515) 210-7475
