Today the Family Leader will hold its annual “Life, Marriage & Family Rally” at the state capitol. We know the Family Leader’s main objective this year will be around religious liberty legislation, which could allow public venues and businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian couples based on personal religious beliefs, despite the fact that the Iowa Civil Rights Act specifically states that it is discriminatory to do so. In addition, the Family Leader and its supporters will lobby our legislators to pass the Iowa Marriage Amendment, a bill that would unfairly exclude gay and lesbian couples from marriage in Iowa.
We know Iowa is better than this. Iowans have enjoyed marriage equality for nearly 5 years. Yet the Family Leader continues to use our families as a divisive political wedge. We need to find a way to work together to find common ground and create the space to have civil dialogue around issues important to us.
While One Iowa recognizes and respects the religious beliefs of all Iowans, it is imperative to separate our appreciation for those beliefs from the Iowa Civil Rights Code. The law says that all public venues and businesses must accommodate individuals regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
It’s time to take action. Contact your legislators and tell them that you support the freedom to marry in Iowa and that Iowa’s marriage equality law actually strengthens religious liberty by stating that no denomination need marry gay or lesbian couples if contrary to its religious doctrines.
We hope that the Family Leader and its supporters will recognize that our families are really not that different from their own. We pay our taxes, we take care of our loved ones, we go to worship, and we are contributing members of society. Will we continue to disagree? Yes. But let us do so from a perspective that respects both religious and individual freedom.
Take action now and contact your legislators.
Read the article from Donna’s Iowa Patch blog.
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