FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 3, 2008

CONTACT: Elizabeth Ray (x130) or Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), 703-683-5004

IOWA SUPREME COURT IMPOSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage: “Injustice has been served today.  The gay marriage movement has once again used the courts to push an untruth on unwilling Iowans: same-sex unions are not marriages and Iowans should not be forced to treat them as such.”

(Princeton, NJ) – The Iowa Supreme Court released its decision today upholding a lower court’s decision to overturn the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.  This landmark decision came three months after the court heard arguments from six same-sex couples who had attempted to file for marriage licenses.

“Injustice has been served today,” said Brian Brown, NOM.  “The gay marriage movement has once again used the power of the courts to push an untruth on unwilling Iowans: same-sex unions are not marriages and Iowans should not be forced by law to treat them as such.”

“Unlike the people of California, the people of Iowa have no direct way to get this issue on the ballot so that they can take marriage back from the courts,” notes Maggie Gallagher, president of NOM. “Once again the most undemocratic branch of government is being used to advance an agenda the majority of Americans reject. Marriage means a husband and wife. That’s not discrimination, that’s common sense.”

“Even in states like Vermont where they are pushing this issue through legislatures, gay marriage advocates are totally unwilling to let the people decide these issues directly,” agreed Brown. “They’ve just about run out of courts willing to radically redefine marriage. The next step for gay marriage advocates will be to use these new laws to push Congress to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and then use the federal courts to impose gay marriage on all 50 states.”

NOM is a national marriage organization that also assists state groups fighting marriage battles. Along with the California group Protect Marriage, NOM was widely credited with putting Prop 8 on the ballot for California voters and emerged as the largest single donor to the Prop 8 effort. NOM’s current media and robocalling campaigns “Don’t Mess with Marriage” and “Gay Marriage Has Consequences” have helped generate enormous grassroots resistance to gay marriage bills pushed in Vermont and New Hampshire.

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, Executive Director, NOM, contact Elizabeth Ray (x 130, [email protected]) or Mary Beth Hutchins (x.105, [email protected]) by calling 703-683-5004.