One Thousand Same-Sex Couples Tie the Knot in Three Months

Three months after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry in the state, approximately a thousand gay and lesbian couples have received marriage certificates, according to One Iowa, a group promoting marriage equality in Iowa.

Precise numbers from around the state are hard to come by; many county recorders said they don't keep track. Others noted that it would be nearly impossible to get a precise count considering that the parties to be wed no longer have to check "bride" or "groom." They may if they choose, but many are listed as "Party A" and "Party B."

"We would literally have to look through every certificate and guess at the names," said Black Hawk County Recorder Judith McCarthy. "It's just another marriage to us. It's not important."

In Polk County, there was a total of 1,166 marriages -- including 328 between couples of the same sex -- in the three months following April 27, the first day such unions were legal. Johnson County has seen 480 total marriages in the same time period, with 154 same-sex marriages.

Officials in both counties said they have seen significantly more women than men tying the knot together -- 211 versus 117 in Polk County.

County recorders interviewed for this story said they saw a rush to marry in the days and weeks immediately following April 27, but that marriages among same-sex couples have slowed to a steady trickle since then.

Many conservatives insist the issue is not yet settled. Bryan English, communications director for the Iowa Family Policy Center, said the next step for opponents is to support candidates who will back an amendment to the Iowa Constitution banning marriages between anyone but one man and one woman.

One such candidate is Steve Burgmeier, chair of the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors. Burgmeier is now the Republican candidate for Iowa House District 90. He is challenging Democrat Curt Hanson to replace Represenative John Whitaker (D-Hillsboro).

One Iowa is taking the challenge seriously. "Make no mistake, a Burgmeier victory would be a boost for opponents of equality," the group said. "They would use his victory to push for a constitutional amendment next legislative session and overthrow pro-equality candidates in 2010."

Stopping same-sex marriages in Iowa is a process that would take two years. Lawmakers would need to pass a resolution in two consecutive General Assemblies before a constitutional amendment would go to a vote of the people.

Republicans are using the issue to energize their supporters. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee recently invoked same-sex marriage while stumping in Iowa for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats. Vander Plaats continues to call for an executive order that would put a stay on same-sex marriages, while other candidates have called for a vote of the people.

Iowa is currently one of three states that allow same-sex couples to wed, along with Massachusetts and Connecticut. Vermont will begin allowing the unions on September 1, and Maine is scheduled to do the same around September 14. New Hampshire will begin allowing same-sex marriages on January 1.

Iowa Supreme Curt Strikes Down State's Rules on School Closures

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a decision by the Des Moines Public Schools to close five schools and also voided the Iowa State Board of Education's 1977 Barker rules, which outlined procedures for consideration by all Iowa school districts contemplating school closings.

The appeal was filed by eight Des Moines parents who challenged the July 12, 2005, vote to close Moore Elementary, Edmunds Academy, Adams Elementary, Cowles Elementary, and Central Campus.

The parents claimed the decision should be set aside because the district failed to comply with two administrative rules by the Iowa State Board of Education prescribing procedural steps to be followed by school districts when making school-closure decisions.

But the high court said that since there was no claim that the school district abused its discretion, "the plaintiff-taxpayers' appeal must fail."

The legislature's decision to withhold such prescriptive authority from the State Board of Education fits comfortably with lawmakers' belief in local control, the Iowa Supreme Court said in striking down the Barker rules.

"We have declined to find legislative authorization for agency rulemaking in the absence of a specific grant of authority," said the opinion written by Justice Daryl Hecht.

This weekly summary comes from IowaPolitics.com, an online government and politics news service. IowaPolitics.com staff contributed to this report.

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