According to to Iowa Politics, "Hundreds of opponents and supporters of the Iowa Supreme Court’s Varnum v. Brien decision legalizing same-sex marriage descended on the Iowa Capitol Thursday morning and witnessed as Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy declined to call up a constitutional amendment to make marriage solely between a man and a woman."
In a movement to bring an ill-conceived amendment to the Iowa Constitution to the floor of the House, House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen made a "call of the House," and closed the chamber doors to not allow any legislators to leave.
Paulsen motioned that House Joint Resolution 6 which was in committee, calling for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, be placed before the body.
House Speaker Murphy said the motion to withdraw House Joint Resolution 6 out of committee and bring it to the floor was out of order, and the "call of the House" was out of order, as well.
Protestors led by former Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell were out in force. Carroll took Governor Culver to task saying he has “cozied up with the legal elite, the homosexual lobby” and “should resign or be replaced.”
“The truth is the Democrat leaders and the people who are calling the shots in the state Capitol don’t want a vote of this to go to the people because they know if they do they will be punished by the homosexual lobby,”
Carroll said. “Why won’t they even let the issue be debated?” Carroll asked. “What are they afraid of? They’re afraid of you. They’re afraid of what you think.”
In point of fact, the House under Republican leadership did pass a definition of marriage bill which was found unconstitutional last Friday by a unanimous State Supreme Court because it did not uphold equal protection under the current state Constitution.
Members of One Iowa counterprotested at the Capitol and encouraged supports to contact their state legislator's and call on them to ignore "Right-wing extremists... resorting to underhanded tactics in an attempt to undermine legislative leadership and take away the freedom to marry!"
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