Iowa Rep. Chris Hagenow Tried to Exclude Gays in Domestic Abuse

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Iowa State Legislator Attempted to Exclude Gays in Domestic Abuse Provision of Federal Law 

On Wednesday in Iowa , an Iowa legislator,  Republican State Representative Chris Hagenow,  attempted to exclude gays from provisions within a domestic abuse law.


Senate File Regarding Federal Law on Protective Orders   

Senate File 2357 is in regard to federal laws which provide for protective restraining orders in domestic abuse cases.  

Rep. Chris Hagenow (R) had written  an amendment that would define the term spouse to be a person of marriage under Iowa law's definition of "one man, one woman".  

According to the Des Moines Register,  the Republican caucus mainly went along with the unconstitutional move of Rep. Hagenow's.  It was Democrat Rep. Rick Olson who pointed out that in 2009, that definition was ruled unconstitutional.  

"Testing the Legislature" 

Hagenow said he had wanted to "test the legislature"  by addressing a specific law saying marriage is between a man and a woman, which the state supreme court struck down last year. Hagenow made the argument that this law is still "on the books"  in the state of Iowa.  The lobby was largely unsuccessful.  

In early April 2009,  the Iowa Supreme Court  legalized gay marriage in a unanimous decision making Iowa the third state to allow same-sex couples to wed.

Iowa is now included with only rwo other US states  -  Massachusetts and Connecticut -  in permitting same-sex marriage and was the first of the nation's "heartland"  states to do so.  The Iowa justices upheld a lower-court ruling;  a decision which rejected a state law restricting the definition of marriage to the traditional, "one man, one woman".  In December 2009,  taking their cue from Maine's Referendum Question One  -  a devastating blow last November for gay marriage proponents nation-wide  -    opponents of gay marriage pushed for a referendum vote.    The GOP was rebuffed in February when it tried to push for a full vote on such a ballot measure. 

Gay Advocacy Response to Rep. Hagenow

One Iowa,  a gay advocacy group,  described the amendment as "shameful" and has launched an email campaign to Hagenow,  calling on him to stop bigotry against the gay community in the state.