Iowa Lawmakers Propose a Bill to Outlaw Same-Sex Marriage

A group of eight Iowa Republicans have introduced a bill that would recognize marriage as “the solemnized union between one human biological male and one human biological female”.

Just a few months after Congress affirmed gay marriage with the historic Respect for Marriage Act, a group of eight Iowa Republicans are looking to go in the opposite direction.

As currently written, the joint resolution describes its version of marriage as being only “in accordance with the laws of nature and nature’s God.”

Same-sex marriage is legal everywhere in the United States due to a Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges. So even if passed, the Iowa bill would likely be unenforceable, something one of the bill’s co-sponsors acknowledged.

“Should the people of Iowa vote for such an amendment, laws would have to be adjusted to make laws fair for all,” State Rep. Brad Sherman, one of the Republicans to introduce the resolution on Tuesday.

A separate group of eight Iowa Republicans introduced another bill on Tuesday with a similar aim.

This bill, known as HF 508, would make it legal for residents to not acknowledge same-sex marriages on religious grounds, effectively making portions of the Respect for Marriage Act “null and void” in the state.

President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which affirms federal acknowledgement of both same-sex and interracial marriages, in December.

According to LGBTQ advocacy organization, One Iowa, there are currently 29 anti-LGBTQ bills in the Iowa legislature. “From trying to roll back marriage equality to banning drag to gutting the civil rights act, no policy seems too extreme to be introduced and debated in the current climate,” the group said in a tweet.