A resolution that seeks to place a gay
marriage ban in the Iowa Constitution will likely die in a Senate
committee.
State Senator Jeff Danielson, a
Democrat from Waterloo, told
the The Gazette on Thursday that there isn't sufficient
support for the measure in the Senate State Government Committee that
he chairs to move it to the Senate, and that the resolution will
likely fall victim to an impending April 1 deadline.
“We do not have the votes for that in
State Government so that will not survive the funnel,” Danielson
said.
The Legislature's self-imposed “funnel”
rule says policy bills must pass either the House or Senate and a
committee of the other chamber to remain viable for the remainder of
the legislative session.
The Iowa House approved the resolution
with an overwhelming 62 to 37 vote on Tuesday, February 1.
Even if the legislation had cleared the
committee, Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal has vowed to block
the measure from reaching the floor.
A unanimous 2009 Iowa Supreme Court
ruling legalized gay marriage in the state.