Sioux City, Iowa,
council members voted Monday to delay taking action on
a resolution to publicly oppose same-sex marriage, reports The Des Moines Register.
Before moving
forward on the proposal, Mayor Mike Hobart said he first
wanted counsel from the state attorney general "on whether
we have the jurisdiction and authority to pass the
resolution."
Councilman Brent
Hoffman introduced the proposal to publicly support the
definition of marriage as a union between a man and a
woman. Though the city has no legal authority over
defining marriage, Hoffman said the symbolic move
would have been instructive for city departments, boards,
and commissions. The resolution also requests a statewide
vote on gay marriage.
The
Register reported that nearly 60 people
attended Monday's council meeting to hear the debate, but
the matter was "tabled indefinitely," according
to Hobart.
Gay unions are a
hot topic in Iowa, where the supreme court is
deliberating over whether to uphold the state's Defense of
Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriage, or
declare the law unconstitutional. The ruling is
expected to come any time in the next year and a half.
(Advocate.com)