Legislation to end or curb same-sex marriage and abortion is beginning to take shape as the Iowa General Assembly prepares for a busy 2011 session. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency is reported to be handling about 650 bill requests from current and soon-to-be members of the legislature, as well as 150 from state agencies, and many aim to start debate on contentious social issues.

Marriage

GOP lawmakers will seek a constitutional amendment “to define marriage as only between one man and one woman that would go before voters if the resolution is passed in exactly the same form by the newly seated Legislature and the 85th General Assembly that gets elected in November 2012.”

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad likened Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) to a “dictator” because of the Democrat’s promise to block a vote on such an amendment. Gronstal has repeatedly said he will not allow discrimination to be written into the state’s constitution, and insists legislation concerning job creation should be a priority, which, as Branstad continues a post-election jobs tour, seems to be the new governor’s priority as well.

“I and every other Senate Democrat will stay focused on creating jobs and improving Iowa’s economy,” Gronstal said in a statement earlier this month. “And I’m asking Iowans to help us convince Republicans that jobs, jobs, jobs should be the legislature’s top priority.”

But even if the marriage amendment fails, conservatives are pushing against “anchor marriages,” according to Rob Boshart of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

[Some lawmakers are seeking] to establish a residency requirement for couples seeking to be married in Iowa that is intended to halt the influx of same-gender couples traveling to Iowa to exchange vows and then return to their home states, as well as to provide a “marriage conscience protection” for people in official positions – such as county recorders responsible for issuing marriage licenses – who object to same-sex marriages.

Illinois recently passed legislation to legalize civil unions, which will take effect June 1, 2011. Nathan Tucker, a conservative Davenport attorney, wrote on the Iowa Republican in December:

Despite now being able to enter into a de facto marriage relationship in their home state, many gay Illinoisans still desire the perceived public approval and legitimacy that comes from the actual word “marriage.”  For them, the reciprocity provision provides the best of both worlds–obtain an actual marriage certificate in Iowa and have it recognized in Illinois.

This likely means an influx of Illinoisans crossing the border to obtain their sodomy licenses that will, for the first time, be recognized as valid when they return home.

In Davenport, about one-third of all same-sex marriage licenses came from Illinois.

Three Republican members of the Iowa House are also drafting legislation that would begin the process of impeachment for the remaining four justices on the state Supreme Court over a 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. The effort got a boost when House Speaker-elect Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) said he wouldn’t stand in the way of the impeachment push if he felt it is what Iowans wanted.

Branstad has refused to take a position on the issue.

Abortion

State Sen. David Johnson (R-Ocheyedan) is attempting to implement a law to prevent Dr. LeRoy Carhart from establishing abortion clinics in the state of Iowa. Carhart, who has been to the Supreme Court twice in cases dealing with partial birth abortions, plans to move to Iowa from Nebraska because of strict abortion laws in the Cornhusker state. In Iowa, abortions are banned after the six-month, or second trimester, unless the mother’s life is in jeopardy. Johnson wants to prevent Iowa from “becoming a destination point for late-term abortions.”

Arsonists allegedly targeted Carhart on Sept. 6, 1991, the day of the passage of the Nebraska Parental Notification Law, setting fire at seven locations on his property. The attack killed two family pets and 17 horses, but was never officially declared arson. At the time Carhart did not practice abortion full-time, it had only been a minor part of his practice. However, the attack encouraged Carhart to begin practicing it full-time, determined not to “cede a victory to the antis.”

The Council Bluffs City Council has already attempted to block Carhart from moving to their community, but the efforts will not stop Carhart’s plans to move to Iowa.

During an interview with Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” Paulsen said he anticipates legislation aimed at stopping Carhart from locating in Iowa. He also said lawmakers would likely look at legislation similar to a law passed in Oklahoma that mandates women seeking abortions requires to watch ultrasounds of their fetuses and listen to details from doctors about the function of vital organs. There are no exemptions for rape or incest.