
In the latest blow to LGBTQIA+ rights, eight Iowa Republicans have presented a proposal to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage.
On Tuesday, eight Republican state representatives introduced House Joint Resolution 8, which proposes an amendment to the Iowa state Constitution.
Banning Same-Sex Marriage
Marriage is the legal partnership between a man and a woman who are members of the same biological family.
The plan follows a rush of anti-LGBTQ proposals proposed by Iowa Republicans, including bathroom bills, gender identity legislation, and legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for children.
Iowa state lawmakers Brad Sherman, Luana Stoltenberg, Mark Cisneros, Helena Hayes, Zach Dieken, Skyler Wheeler, Mark Thompson, and Thomas Gerhold introduced the measure on Tuesday.
Their suggestion comes more than two months after Congress recognized gay marriages and nearly eight years after the historic legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States by the Supreme Court.
It would likely take several years, if not longer, for the Iowa resolution to ban same-sex weddings to become law. It must be approved by the Iowa House and Senate and signed by the governor, Kim Reynolds. Additionally, it would need to be approved by a second legislative session and subsequently by voters.
Hundreds of kids throughout Iowa participated in a ‘We Say Gay’ walkout to protest a recent package of anti-LGBTQ youth rights measures. According to The Des Moines Register, students stated that these laws will have long-lasting detrimental effects.
In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturned a ban on gay marriage, making Iowa the third U.S. state to recognize gay marriage.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reported tracking a record-breaking 340 anti-LGBTQ laws introduced across the country last month.
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What is ‘Respect for Marriage Act?’

Over 150 of these measures would restrict the rights of transgender individuals, the biggest number of such bills ever introduced in a single year. In addition, over 90 of these measures would ban transgender youth from getting age-appropriate health care, according to the organization.
Another bill introduced in Iowa on Tuesday would establish a legal challenge to the federal Respect for Marriage Act.
House File 508 recommends that no person of Iowa shall be persuaded, coerced, or forced to accept any same-sex partnerships or ceremonies as marriage and states that no legal action can be taken against them, notwithstanding the federal law approved late last year.
The Respect for Marriage Act ensures federal recognition of any marriage that was legitimate in the state in which it took place.
The law also requires states to recognize the validity of legitimate marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The measure safeguards same-race and interracial marriages.
Hence, if the US Supreme Court ever overturned its landmark rule legalizing same-sex marriage and if some states maintained bans, those states would still be required by law to recognize such marriages.
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