The Des Moines Register:

Hundreds of conservative Christians crowded the Iowa Capitol this morning in favor of advancing a proposed state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.

The rally and lobbying effort, organized by the conservative advocacy group the Iowa Family Leader and two national groups opposing same-sex marriage, was aimed at the Democrat-controlled Senate, where a proposed amendment has stalled after passage in the Republican House last year.

Organizers instructed rally attendees from across the state to lobby their own state senators, but also to target a handful of Democrats who might be supportive of the amendment and Sen. Michael Gronstal, who as majority leader has its blocked consideration

... Dozens of attendees wore red t-shirts bearing a “Let Us Vote” logo and the web address luvIowa.com. (The site redirects to the Family Leader’s website.)

... Referring to Senate Democrats’ refusal to advance the amendment and clear the way for a statewide vote, National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown invoked Martin Luther King, Jr., to suggest that it was the opponents of same-sex marriage whose civil rights were threatened.

“We hear that this is about civil rights, and that those of us who oppose the redefinition of marriage are somehow bigots,” Brown said. “And yet, what Dr. Martin Luther King called the most important civil right – the right to vote – these very same folks are trying to deprive us of this right.”

Then and at other points in the rally, the crowd broke into chants of “Let us vote!” that echoed throughout the Capitol.