Monday, April 22, 2013
Iowa Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme, is standing by comments that homosexuality poses a health risk to he and his family. Meanwhile, some are calling for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to denounce them.
An Iowa Democratic leader is calling on Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, to denounce controversial comments about homosexuality by a GOP state senator. Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Tyler Olson, who's also a state representative from Cedar Rapids, said Branstad has a responsibility to condemn the "hurtful" comments of State Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme. Guth said on the Iowa Senate floor last week that homosexuality poses a health risk to him and his family, similar to second-hand smoke, and the media has "bamboozled" the public into accepting homosexuality. Guth was urging dialogue to warn young people about the risks of gay relationships. "What Dennis Guth said was incredibly hurtful," Olson said in a news release. "Governor …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
"Health risks" from homosexuality are equivalent to those of second-hand smoke, said Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme. Critics blasted the comments as "offensive," "disgusting" and "ignorant."
A Republican Iowa state senator told fellow legislators that homosexuality creates health risks for him and his family and it is time for an honest conversation about the lifestyle. It has prompted condemnation from other legislators and gay advocate groups. Sen. Dennis Guth, of Klemme, said young people seeking relationship advice should be warned about the dangers of homosexuality. The lifestyle leads to medical problems for the community at-large, shorter lifespans and less fulfilling relationships, he said. Guth thinks of health risks from homosexuality in the same vein as those from second-hand smoke, he said. "How does same-sex relationships hurt you? This is similar to asking me how does smoking hurt you," said Guth, who listed …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Good idea or bad? Tell us below in the comments.
Here’s a new wrinkle on a story that has generated a vibrant discussion on West Des Moines Patch: There are signs religious conservatives may form a third party rather than capitulate on social issues like same-sex marriage. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whose support among evangelical Christians buoyed him to the top of a crowded Republican field in the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, warned that could happen recently. Our story, 2012 Election Autopsy: Voters Shunned GOP for Being ‘Scary’ and ‘Narrow Minded has generated a robust discussion with hundreds of comments, mirroring some of the arguments being advanced this week before the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments on challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Can the Grand Old Party become the "Growth and Opportunity Party?” Yes, a national report says, if it wants to survive.
Remember that nudge Iowa Republicans got earlier this year to relax on social issues or risk more crushing defeats at the polls? It’s a full-fledged shove now. A Growth & Opportunity Project “autopsy” report released this week by the Republican National Committee said defeats at the polls result from a perception on the part of some voters that the party is “scary,” “narrow-minded” and “out of touch,” and that it’s a party of “stuffy old men,” the Huffington Post reported. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus was in Iowa this week talking about the report after appearing Sunday on “Face the Nation,” where he said the 2012 election post-mortem exposes the party’s “lousy job of branding and marketing” its principles. In a special reporting project …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Spiker's anti-gay marriage comments were made during this week's Iowa Press airing 7:30 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday.
While local Republicans like Jeff Angelo have spoken out in favor of gay marriage and equality in recent weeks, AJ Spiker, of Ames, and chairman of the Iowa Republican Party said Iowa Republicans do not embrace gay marriage. “There is a gay marriage party in the state of Iowa and that’s The Iowa Democratic Party,” Spiker said. “The Republican Party embraces one-man/one-woman marriage and embraces the right of the people to vote on the definition of marriage," according to a release from the Iowa Democratic Party. Read our two-part Iowa Patch series: Will Desire to Gain Voters Prompt Iowa GOP to Change Course on Gay Marriage – Or at Least Muzzle Activists? and Fight Against Gay Marriage? Not if the Iowa GOP Wants Young Voters Spiker made …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
A cultural war is taking place within the Republican Party. In Iowa, where gay marriage opponents and social conservatives Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee have come out winners in the first-in-the-nation caucus, the conversation is critically important.
The first article in a two-part series. Read Part 2, Fight Against Gay Marriage? Not if Iowa GOP Wants Young Voters, on Iowa City Patch. __________ Troubled by polling data that shows traditional positions on issues like same-sex marriage are costing elections, the Republican Party is going through what its leaders politely call a period of introspection. More brutally, it's a question of whether the GOP can hold its nose and keep quiet on same-sex marriage and other social issues in order to welcome in a new group of young voters whose priorities center more on fiscal values than family values. The conversation is critically important – and difficult – in Iowa, where the results of first-in-the-nation caucuses and the Straw Poll leading …
Friday, February 1, 2013
In Iowa, where fiercely anti-gay marriage candidates Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee have come out winners in the first-in-the-nation caucus, a cultural war is taking place within the Republican Party.
Troubled by polling data showing traditional positions on issues like same-sex marriage are costing elections, the Republican Party is going through what party leaders politely call a period of introspection. In brutally plain terms, however, the question facing the Republican party comes down to this: Can GOP leaders hold their noses and keep quiet about social issues if it means welcoming in a new group of young voters whose priorities center more on fiscal values than family values? Two Republican strategists – including the now openly gay architect of President George W. Bush’s successful 2004 campaign – were in Iowa this week making the case that it’s politically pragmatic to ease up on social issues, such as stopping the struggle …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Tuesday’s vote retaining one of the authors of the same-sex marriage ruling suggests same-sex marriage isn’t the hot-button issue it was two years ago.
Sparing Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins the ouster that two years ago ended the judicial career of three colleagues in Iowa’s historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, the state’s voters were swept up in a tide of increasing tolerance that spread from shore to shore in Tuesday’s election. Coupled with outright approval of same-sex marriage in Maine and Maryland and action by Minnesota voters to turn back a proposed ban, the Iowa vote to retain Wiggins makes for a 4-for-4 win at the ballot box for marriage equality advocates nationally, said gay rights leader Donna Red Wing. “We knew it was about marriage,” said Red Wing, executive director of One Iowa, the state’s largest advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Here are the facts about Iowa's judicial retention vote, which has been linked to the future of gay marriage in the state.
Here is a primer on Iowa's judicial retention vote. Why does Iowa use judicial retention? In 1962, Iowa voters approved a constitutional reform that replaced the process of selecting judges by popular vote with a merit selection and retention election process. In a retention election, judges do not have opponents. Instead, voters decide whether or not to retain a judge in office. If a judge receives a simple majority of "yes" votes, the judge may serve another full term. Why do some people see the vote as a referendum on gay marriage? In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling that effectively legalized gay marriage in Iowa. In the 2010 general election, three justices who were part of that decision — Marsha Ternus, David …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Iowans will vote on whether to retain Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, but the outcome could reveal much more about how America feels about gay marriage and politics in the judiciary.
As Iowans head to the polls on Tuesday, they could be part of a defining stand for or against gay marriage in America and politics in the judiciary. One of Iowa’s biggest races is an historically procedural item on the back of the ballot. Voters will be asked, "yes or no," if Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins should remain in office. “I'd say that the Wiggins' vote matters to all citizens of the state, regardless of sexual orientation,” said Maeve Clarke, an Iowa City woman who married her longtime partner the day after Iowa began recognizing same-sex marriage in 2009. “It is a matter of keeping the State's Supreme Court fair and impartial - making sure politics plays no part in decisions that come before the court.” Wiggins was …
Lori Morris
7:17 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
At this point I doubt it would matter if Branstad addressed Guth's comments or not, though I have my doubts that he will. more ›