Republicans advocating gay marriage will increase in Iowa

 

 

More Republicans are starting to accept and advocate more for same-sex marriages in Iowa, and what was once considered a minority view within the GOP will “have influence” at the August Ames straw poll and 2012 Iowa Caucuses, a former state senator said Wednesday, reports the Independent.

Former state Sen. Jeff Angelo, an Ames Republican, said his newly launched group, “Iowa Republicans for Freedom,” is only the beginning of more Republican-centric organizations advocating for same-sex rights, including civil marriage, and such groups will be more common as time goes on.

“If you’re an activist like me and you go to these Republican meetings and this issue gets discussed, you’re made to feel uncomfortable in you’re in favour of marriage equality,” Angelo said.

“There needs to be an organization which Republicans can join and say ‘I’d actually like to advocate for gay and lesbian marriage as part of my conservative principles,’” he continued. “So I do think that these types of groups are existing so people are aware there is another Republican voice on this issue, besides the Republicans who support exclusive one-man-one-woman marriage.”

Freedom to marry is an issue that directly aligns with the conservative beliefs of limited government and personal freedom, Angelo said.

“Iowa is in the perfect position to start the conversation about how the Republican platform can get back to its conservative roots and back to being a party that stands for true conservative values, like limited government,” he said.

Angelo is a heterosexual father of three who identifies as an evangelical Christian. He regularly attends the Ames Evangelical Free Church. While he still considers himself “very much an activist Republican,” Angelo said he, and other Republicans, are recognizing banning same-sex marriage violates the widely-held conservative belief of personal freedoms.

And while there is a shift in opinion among Republicans, it is not highly publicized.

“I keep going to meetings and get Republicans coming to me and privately saying, ‘I support what you do,’ but they don’t want to come out yet and say that.  But there’s enough people coming to me that gives me a feeling that things are shifting.”

Republicans advocating gay marriage will increase in Iowa, former lawmaker says | Iowa Independent