As final numbers come in from county recorders, at least 360 same-sex couples have applied for marriage licenses in Iowa, with the heaviest concentrations in Linn, Polk, Scott and Johnson counties, according to information collected by The Des Moines Register. The tally so far includes 26 out-of-state couples, according to a survey of county recorders. The Register is still gathering its data, but afternoon figures show that the greatest number of applications so far is in Polk County, which has logged 83. Johnson County has seen 40 applications so far, Scott County has seen at least 18, and 40 couples have applied for marriage licenses in Linn County. Today was the first day same-sex couples could since the April 3 Iowa Supreme Court opinion that struck down a state law that said marriage was only between a man and a woman.

Photo gallery: Iowa begins issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

See 360+ same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses; most in Polk Co.
DesMoinesRegister.com –

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Details on same-sex marriage in Iowa

Marriage requirements in Iowa remain the same, with the exception that the ban on same-sex marriage has been eliminated:

–Two people, over 18.

–Not already legally married.

–Not closely related.

-Legally competent to enter into a civil contract.

To get a license:

–Visit a county recorder’s office and fill out an application.

–Show proof of identity.

–Pay a $35 fee.

–Have a witness sign the application.

–Both parties must be present or have the form notarized.

–Submit application and wait three days for license to be valid.

For the ceremony:

–It must be in Iowa, with both parties, an officiate and two witnesses present. All must sign the marriage certificate.

–Officiant, a judge or leader of religious faith, files certificate with county recorder within 15 days

–Same-sex marriage licenses submitted on Monday, April 27, the day Iowa legalizes same-sex marriage, will become valid on Thursday, April 30. Judges can grant a waiver.

What if a same-sex couple has had a ceremony elsewhere?:

–If a same-sex couple has been legally married elsewhere, their marriage is valid in Iowa as of Monday. They do not have to get remarried.

–It is unclear if civil unions from another state or registered domestic partnerships will be recognized in Iowa.

For more see Details on same-sex marriage in Iowa
Chicago Tribune – United States

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Five stories from five years of same-sex marriage

Cambridge, Mass. - Susan Shepherd looks up at the rough-hewn pink granite of City Hall, just across the Charles River from downtown Boston. An American flag ripples in the wind. Inside the building, a plaque commemorates Cambridge as America’s birthplace of legal same-sex marriage.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years,” Shepherd says, hugging her wife. “I feel like I just met her yesterday.”

Nor can gay marriage opponents believe what’s happened in Massachusetts since, in their view, traditional marriage came to an end.

Yet in the past five years as same-sex marriage became part of Massachusetts’ landscape, many Bay Staters say something unexpected has happened: Life is as it always was.

Just after midnight on May 17, 2004, Shepherd and Marcia Hams, a Cambridge couple who’d been together three decades and raised a son, became Massachusetts’ first same-sex couple to get a marriage license. They had waited 24 hours in rain and cold, and by the time they got the license, 10,000 supporters gathered on the front lawn of City Hall.

Five years later and 1,300 miles away, Iowa on Monday will allow same-sex marriages. As Iowa enters into uncharted territory for the Midwest, the Bay State may serve as a sign of what may come.

Since same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, about 12,000 same-sex couples have applied for marriage licenses. Gay marriages now comprise about 4 percent of all marriages performed in the state, meaning there are about 1,500 a year.

There have been some same-sex divorces, too, most notably by the couple whose name was on the court case that legalized same-sex marriage.

To be sure, a sizable chunk of Massachusetts’ 6.3 million residents remain opposed to same-sex marriage, mostly on religious grounds. Some say legal same-sex marriage has led to censorship of those who remain opposed, to infringement on the rights of parents who object to same-sex marriage being taught in schools, and to Catholic Charities of Boston ending adoption work because it refused to allow same-sex couples to adopt.

But polling results show a shift toward acceptance of gay marriage. A 2004 survey by the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston found the state split: 42 percent supported gay marriage, 44 percent opposed it. A similar survey in 2008 found 59 percent in support of gay marriage, 37 percent opposed.

As Iowa enters a new era, a drive through Massachusetts and into Maine shows how same-sex marriage has changed life – for better, for worse or, as many say, hardly at all.

See Five stories from five years of same-sex marriage
DesMoinesRegister.com – Des Moines,IA,USA

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Gay marriage advocate downplays opposition to issue

The Chicago based group that orchestrated the move toward gay marriage in Iowa says it will have observers in 25% of the county recorders’ offices Monday when same-sex couples can first seek licenses to marry — but the group is dismissing the idea there is any opposition to the marriages.

Camilla Taylor is the Lambda Legal attorney who led the Iowa lawsuit which resulted in the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that Iowa’s law saying marriage is between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.

Taylor was asked during a conference call with reporters Thursday if there was confusion among state officials over how they should handle gay marriage issues. Taylor says she hasn’t heard any particular difficulties in working out what the decision means. She says Iowa isn’t the first state to rule that marriage licenses must be issued to same-sex couples, so there is a lot of help available if Iowa officials have questions.

Lambda officials say Iowa has “embraced” the gay marriage ruling, and Taylor dismissed recent attempts in the legislature to bring up a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Taylor says the state legislature “has made it very clear that the state legislature is not interested in putting discrimination into the constitution and that there are a lot of other issues that Iowans care about. She says there are budget issues and the state is recovering from natural disasters, “so I don’t think there is any will to amend the state constitution.”

Democratic leaders have blocked several attempts to bring up the vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Taylor was asked if her confidence would change if Republicans won back control or the legislature or if Iowa voters decided to call for a constitutional convention in 2010.

See Gay marriage advocate downplays opposition to issue
Radio Iowa – Des Moines,IA,USA

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Iowa marriage licenses now gender neutral

New Iowa marriage licenses gender neutral

(Des Moines, Iowa) The Iowa Department of Public Health, which registers marriages in the state, has begun sending county clerks new gender neutral marriage license application forms.

Same-sex couples can begin issuing the forms on Monday, the date imposed by the Iowa Supreme Court when it struck down the state ban …

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