Klansman to
organize protest of same-sex marriage in Iowa

A Charles City, Iowa, man who said he's a member of the Ku Klux Klan is trying to organize a rally next month to protest attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in that state. Douglas Sadler, 41, said his efforts are prompted by lawsuits, filed earlier this month on behalf of six gay couples, to alter the state's marriage laws. "We don't believe God's law should be perverted any more than it already has been," said Sadler, a father of four. "The further we go away from God's law, the further we get away from God." Lambda Legal, the organization that spearheaded the same-sex marriage drive across the country, is representing the gay couples in the lawsuit. Group officials said they will argue that the state constitution's equal-protection and due process clauses make it unlawful for the state to bar gay couples from marrying. They plan to take the case to the Iowa supreme court if necessary. That's exactly where Sadler plans to hold his protest. He said a contingent from Cerro Gordo, Floyd, and Mitchell counties will head to Des Moines sometime next month and spread its message. "We don't believe they have the right to marry," Sadler said. "In fact, we don't think they have the right to exist." Sadler claims he leads a northern Iowa contingent of the Klan but would not name any other members. Lionel Foster, executive director of the Mason City Human Rights Commission, said he is aware of Ku Klux Klan activity in Iowa but is not extremely concerned. "They spread the same propaganda as they always have, and they thrive on it," he said. "To be honest, there aren't that many Klansmen in Iowa. We're more concerned about the sympathizers than we are with the Klan because they cause the trouble." (AP)