7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Ruling Makes Iowa Gay Marriage Destination
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage created a situation never seen in the state -- suddenly Iowa is a wedding destination.

That April 3, 2009, decision, followed weeks later by the issuing of marriage licenses, led to 1,783 weddings between same-sex couple by the end of the year. Of those, 1,044 of the couples were from outside Iowa.

Same-sex couples came from more than a dozen states to get married in Iowa. The top state was Illinois, with 172 couples. Minnesota was second with 100 couples. Other top states include Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas.

Some want voters to consider amending the Iowa Constitution to ban gay marriage, but that's opposed by Democrats in the Legislature. The earliest the issue could make the ballot is 2014.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
04 02 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.