Iowa Same-Sex Marriage Poll: 92% Say It Hasn't Impacted Their Lives

One of the most common arguments against marriage equality is that the legalization of gay marriage threatens the institution of traditional marriage. But a recent poll conducted by the Des Moines Register finds that 92% of Iowans believe that "gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives." The study comes just months after the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision to overturn a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage.

The poll finds that Iowans are evenly split in their attitudes toward same-sex marriage.

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Comments

[SteveDenver]

12:41 PM on 10/09/2009

What about the other 8%, how has gay marriage impacted their heterosexual marriage?

One of my favorite gay t-shirts is: "If gays are allowed to marry, who will blow your husband?"

[3rad]

03:13 AM on 09/23/2009

Brought no real change to our lives?

Well, it's a yes and no answer in reality.
No of course not, not yet, no one has gotten divorced or died much yet - those stats wont be in for a few more years. Also no, we really didn't give a rats in public prior to the legalization of gay marrige. We just went about our business in life. Ok plus a few drag queens.

It's like saying nothing changed when blacks and women could vote, nothing "changed" the sky didn't change colors for a week or something you know, biblical. So nothing changed per say, oh except that whole equal rights bit.

[Quislet]

06:27 PM on 09/23/2009

I don't know whether you are for or against letting gay couples marry.

In what reality would the marriage of two people or allowing a particular group the right to marry cause the divorce or prevent the marriage of two other people?

[Nate Lowery]

02:02 AM on 09/23/2009

I had no idea there were only 803 people in Iowa.

[TotalRecall9]

04:25 PM on 09/22/2009

Well, duh! A female teacher seducing a 14-year old student doesn't impact 92% of the people's daily lives neither, but it doesn't make it right!

[YoJymbo]

05:19 PM on 09/22/2009

Nice straw man argument... Statutory rape = consentual gay sex.... Brilliant!

And how is it that the M0rm0n church* is so effective in changing voters minds about gay marriage? All of us at one time or another have had a M0rm0n friend that tried to convert us, but we are not all M0rm0ns. So how is it that their anit-gay campaign is so effective? The hardliners of M0rm0nism have repeatedly had sex with underage girls (children to be more direct), engaged in polygamy and their reigious views are blatantly racist. Those voting for Prop 8 and similar bills do not seem to take any of this into account. A jury of your peers actually means 12 m0r0rons, a public vote apparently meant 10s of thousands of m0r0ns.

M0r0ns, M0rm0ns........ Wait a minute!

[carsntrucks]

01:08 AM on 09/23/2009

That wasn't a strawman. That just proves how pointless this post is. There's a lot of stuff that one could conclude doesn't affect 92% of people's daily lives, but you wouldn't agree with it being legalized, would you?

[Liberal Angel]

08:04 PM on 09/22/2009

Comparing child molestation to marriage equality for all Iowa's citizens, that's what's not right. You are a bigot. An uninformed, bigot.

[carsntrucks]

01:09 AM on 09/23/2009

...and you're an uninformed, put upon, judgmental hypocrite.

[kd1s]

02:22 PM on 09/22/2009

The boyfriend of a friend of mine thinks that allowing gay people to marry will make his taxes go up.

It's that type of thinking that's pushed by the religious wingnuts. That taxes will go up, that the children will be irreparably harmed if they find out it's ok if two men or two women can marry, etc. The anti gay marriage bigots are harping on those issues alone.

The reality is, none of their straight constituency has felt any harm from gay people getting married.

And the anti-gay marriage bigots, it's the religious crowd that pulls the strings. They'll always complain about how it infringes their religious rights. The thing is every same sex marriage bill or judicial decision has carved out exclusions for religious institutions so that they won't be getting hit with lawsuits if they refuse to marry a gay couple.

It's all ridiculous because here's what is happening. Little by little churches are learning that you attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. And the Catholic leadership needs to be particularly careful since they are very out of sync with much of their congregation.

[PinkoPanther]

01:53 AM on 09/24/2009

These poor people are building their religious beliefs around the whims of politicians and lobbyists... They are becoming disenchanted with their own spirituality because they just get lied to all the time. Jesus preached love and tolerance - but that's not good enough to sell for a price... In order to squeeze money out of people, you have to threaten them with eternal damnation and doomsday scenarios...

[bookon]

12:48 PM on 09/22/2009

The other 8% can now get married.

[carsntrucks]

11:55 AM on 09/22/2009

Oh please. This is blatant push polling nonsense. If gay marriage was going to impact people's lives, it would take longer than a couple of months for it to do so, and this is just like reporting that most people believe in health care reform, and acting like that means most people support Obama's health care reform ideas. One doesn't mean the other.

[Liberal Angel]

12:44 PM on 09/22/2009

So you think a gay couple's marriage is going to impact anyone else's life? How, by people knowing gay people exist and are entitled to equal rights?

[carsntrucks]

12:42 AM on 09/23/2009

Notice I said "if". I don't know if it will or it wont. I just figure if there will be any actual effects of it, it will take longer than its been, and most of you will adamantly deny any negative effects of it anyway, so it's ultimately a moot point.

[MoeB]

02:47 PM on 09/22/2009

Ok. So then how will it *eventually* affect heterosexual couples?

[PinkoPanther]

03:14 AM on 09/22/2009

Yay for Iowa! But here's the thing... the people that did Propostion 8 in CA and Amendment 2 in FL are now focusing on Iowa and putting a blitz of anti-gay ads on TV to try to change the public perception before they put it on the ballot... They always win by ganging up on people. They want you to believe that the courts have somehow "imposed their personal beliefs" on you. But this gives Iowa a chance to be the first state to VOTE AGAINST anti-gay discrimination. You can do it, Iowa... I know you can! America is counting on you.

[mag68]

09:52 PM on 09/21/2009

Keep in mind, they were asked if it brought any real change. That certainly does not imply that any change was negative. Maybe they asked flower shop owners, bakers, wedding planners, event sites, etc. I am willing to bet that very, very few of the 8% who answered that they experienced change meant that they experienced negative change.

[ron46032]

11:20 PM on 09/21/2009

Nor did the poll's 100% imply that they approved or disapproved of gay marriage.

[JIC]

09:37 PM on 09/21/2009

... and the other 8 per cent is gay. Case closed.

[ron46032]

11:23 PM on 09/21/2009

There are gays in Iowa. A poll was taken. 8% of the poll said yes. Therefore, the 8% who said yes are gay people?

If that is your logic, then 2 + 2 equals anything that you want.

[David Rozgonyi]

01:56 AM on 09/22/2009

Actually it makes sense. 8% is a low-end estimate of the gay and lesbian population of any country/humans in general. If my gay neighbors got married, there would be no change in my life, and I would report it as such. If I am gay, this law would change my life whether I am wanting to get married now or not. There really is no third option, despite the histrionics of those who claim otherwise, ie that gay and lesbian marriage will somehow--osmosis? quantum entanglement?--affect their own.

[yakaloot]

09:16 PM on 09/21/2009

Such strange strange behavior from those against gay marriage Somewhere in this equation there is something called 'jealousy'. So strange.

[CR46]

09:59 PM on 09/21/2009

Just the few talibangecals trying to push their religious beliefs onto others.

[ricmarc]

09:07 PM on 09/21/2009

we need to start petition drives in all the states to change the constitutions to outlaw divorvce. lets make till death do us part actually mean something.

[ron46032]

11:14 PM on 09/21/2009

I'm good with that. Just understand that there will probably be more deaths that way. But hey, that will bring the cost of health care down.

[lazercat2008]

09:00 PM on 09/21/2009

Tiny victories will eventually win the war.

[ron46032]

11:15 PM on 09/21/2009

Exactly right. Prop 8 is the way to show judges what the people want.

[xenas mom]

12:19 PM on 09/22/2009

Nice excuse for endorsing discriminatory practices against one's fellow citizens. IF you bought the Prop 8 campaign--and I'm assuming you did--then know this: You bought into a well-financed PR campaign that was designed by a PR hack in Sacramento who peddles public policy utilizing the same tools that are used to sell vitamins, cars and vodka. That agency is not on the "side of angels"; they work for the highest bidder. This time it was the Mormon and Catholic churches who vehemently oppose same-sex marriage; before that, it was big tobacco attempting to protect their own corporate greed and interests. That PR agency doesn't care what the "people" want--they only cared what the people signing their paycheck wanted.

[YoJymbo]

08:54 PM on 09/21/2009

A g/\y couple moved in next door to me and now I'm feeling g/\y, I guess I'm one of the 8%.
Why do gay men have to be so d/\mn good looking; stup1d flawless figures and waxed chests.
I h/\te myself and my wife.

[JudgeMoonbox]

09:04 PM on 09/21/2009

"A g/y couple moved in next door to me and now I'm feeling g/y, I guess I'm one of the 8%.
Why do gay men have to be so d/mn good looking; stup1d flawless figures and waxed chests.
I h/te myself and my wife."

What you're really saying is that you finally have the courage to come out of the closet where you've always been, and are blaming your neighbors for that.

[YoJymbo]

09:12 PM on 09/21/2009

You have no appreciation for satire.

[BronzeDusk]

08:45 PM on 09/21/2009

As an Iowan, my observation has been that, generally, people here focus on things that affect them directly and pay little attention to things that don't. It's kind of like a gentler, 'we mind our own business and we don't want others meddling in ours' approach and the polling question posed in this instance is perfect. As a matter of fact, "How does gay marriage affect you?" would serve as an excellent focal point for marriage equality initiatives across the nation.

Iowans are usually fiercely independent, yet with a mild-mannered approach, and confident in their ability to make decisions that are best for the people of Iowa and compatible with the highest values of our nation. They also don't take kindly to outsiders seeking to "enlighten" them as to what rights they should and should not extend to their citizens. I think this bodes well for marriage equality to remain intact in our state.

[JohnJames]

09:34 PM on 09/21/2009

Sounds great. As an Illinoisan "mild-mannered" does seem to say more about Iowans than other single adjective. Go, Iowa!

[NoblesseOblige]

09:51 PM on 09/21/2009

Great comments with terrific insight.

My great great grandparents were one of the earliest couples to wed in Iowa. And, I don't think gay marriage would have affected their marriage one iota.

All's well in River City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLPKX5UcjxQ