Responsible Procreation and the Nefarious Agenda in Iowa

The Iowa legislature has been debating a constitutional amendment to overturn the Iowa Supreme Court decision recognizing gay marriage:

Marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only legal union valid or recognized in this state.

Richard Anderson of Clarinda, Republican chairman of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee, explained his vote for the amendment:

The reason we try to protect marriage is because we want to protect something called responsible procreation. We want to drive procreation into a stable relationship and procreation only happens between a male and a female. See a male and a female can do something that a homosexual couple cannot: They can create children accidentally. That's the issue. It's not about love. It's not about romance. It's about driving state policy toward responsible procreation.

This picture of marriage without love or romance is rather bleak. It just makes you want to hum "Love and Marriage" and put on some old episodes of the hit Fox show Married with Children with Al and Peggy Bundy.

Another Republican, former State Senator Jeff Angelo of Creston, argued against the amendment:

Each day, Iowans worship with, work with, live with, and love people who are gay. This debate centers around the devaluation of the lives of a select group of people. At its worst, we are being asked to believe that our gay friends and neighbors are involved in a nefarious agenda. The outcome of which, supposedly, is the unraveling of society itself.

My friends, Iowans are discomforted by this debate. We know it not to be true.

What is the nefarious agenda, to make a mockery of marriage?

In real life, Married with Children supporting actress Amanda Bearse, who played the next door neighbor Marcy D'Arcy, married her longtime partner Carrie Schenken in 2010. They have two daughters.

Then there is conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh who has no children, despite being married four times. His third marriage was performed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, but that one didn't take. He sanctified his fourth marriage by hiring openly gay singer Elton John to perform at his reception. Maybe the fourth time is the charm.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney supports gay marriage, but then again his daughter Mary is gay. And so does former First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Barbara Bush. That is, they both have announced their support for gay marriage.

Democrats in the Iowa Senate are promising to bottle up the constitutional amendment, which has to pass both the House and Senate in two sessions before it can be placed on the ballot. But it's hard to say what would happen in Iowa if the constitutional amendment comes before the voters.

Yes, they did vote three Iowa Supreme Court Judges out of office this past November in reaction to the decision to allow gay marriage. Some voters may be satisfied with punishing those judges, and may not vote for a constitutional amendment.
 
Proponents of a constitutional amendment did have a chance this past November to have voters call a constitutional convention to bypass the legislature. While Iowans did vote narrowly to kick the three judges out of office, they also voted overwhelmingly against the constitutional convention.

Of course, if you let a bunch of politicians get together in a room and rewrite your state constitution, who knows what nefarious agendas they might have to write in all manner of other things. That would not be responsible procreation.