By Kathleen Gilbert
DES MOINES, Iowa, January 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Chants of “let us vote!” filled the state House of Representatives on Tuesday, as a crowd of Iowans flooded the state capital Tuesday, seeking a voter referendum to decide whether the state Supreme Court should have dissolved the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
As many as 1,000 Iowans showed their opposition to the legalization of same-sex “marriage” by the Iowa Supreme Court's activist decision last April by wearing red shirts associated with the Iowa Family Policy Center's Let Us Vote Iowa (LUV Iowa) campaign. A smaller group of ralliers displayed blue dots with One Iowa, the state's largest homosexual advocacy group.
“We are … going to the state capitol on January 12th to politely and simply tell a man named Mike Gronstal to 'Let Us Vote',” announced the LUVIowa campaign in December.
The same month same-sex “marriage” was legalized, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal killed a bid to consider a constitutional amendment banning same-sex “marriage.”
Gov. Chet Culver was present in the Iowa House of Representatives' chamber Tuesday to give his Condition of the State speech – which avoided commentary on gay “marriage.”
Iowa Family Policy Center president Chuck Hurley vowed to continue pressuring lawmakers to allow the referendum.
“Marriage is the very first institution ever created, the foundation for jobs and education, for everything (the governor) mentioned,” said Hurley, according to the Des Moines Register.
“To omit the foundation is the biggest whiff I've ever seen, the biggest swing and miss you can imagine, and particularly when the main issue before the governor and the people today is the marriage issue, no matter what side you're on. It's the elephant in the room.”
Pastor Keith Ratliff pointed out that 67% of Iowans believe in the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
“We want to vote on this marriage amendment,” said Ratliff.