Hundreds Rally for Marriage Ban in Iowa

Some 500 supporters of a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality rallied Tuesday at the Iowa capitol.

According to The Des Moines Register, the purpose of the event was to prompt the senate to consider the proposal, which already passed the Republican-controlled house. The measure, which would repeal the marriage equality established by a state supreme court ruling in 2009, needs to pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature before it could head to the ballot. Senate majority leader Michael Gronstal, a Democrat, has vowed not to take up the proposal in his chamber.

"The hourlong rally drew an enthusiastic crowd from throughout the state decked out in red shirts and jackets, the color used by LUV Iowa, a group backing the amendment," reports the Register. "Some toted signs, such as 'Man + Woman = Marriage' and 'God is not a Liar.' They shouted, 'Amen,' in agreement with the event's speakers."

The keynote speaker for the antigay activists was Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama supreme court, who was removed in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse.

A smaller number of marriage equality advocates held signs in the distance, and afterward, about 60 of them lobbied lawmakers inside the capitol, the Register reports.