199 Illinois gay couples married in Iowa since April 2009
Wed. May 19, 2010 12:00 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
60% of Iowa same-sex marriages were non-residents
Des Moines, IA -
A majority of Iowa's same-sex marriages have been couples from out-of-state, including Illinois, according to numbers from a new report released from the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The report data indicates there were 2,020 same-sex marriages in Iowa from April 27, 2009, when the state started allowing such unions, until March 31, 2010. Of those, 815 were from Iowa.
The remaining 1,005 same-sex marriages were from non-residents. Illinois lead with 199, followed by 158 from Missouri, 111 from Nebraska and 109 from Minnesota.
Lesbian marriages were more common with 1,292 compared to 728 marriages involving two men.
Justin Uebelhor, a spokesman for the gay-rights group One Iowa, told the Des Moines Register that he wasn't surprised to see that so many of the gay couples were from other states. "We've seen a lot of folks excited about being able to get married in a Midwestern state."
Iowa became the first state in the Midwest to allow same-sex marriage after the state Supreme Court ruled that an Iowa ban on such marriages was unconstitutional.
The report data indicates there were 2,020 same-sex marriages in Iowa from April 27, 2009, when the state started allowing such unions, until March 31, 2010. Of those, 815 were from Iowa.
The remaining 1,005 same-sex marriages were from non-residents. Illinois lead with 199, followed by 158 from Missouri, 111 from Nebraska and 109 from Minnesota.
Lesbian marriages were more common with 1,292 compared to 728 marriages involving two men.
Justin Uebelhor, a spokesman for the gay-rights group One Iowa, told the Des Moines Register that he wasn't surprised to see that so many of the gay couples were from other states. "We've seen a lot of folks excited about being able to get married in a Midwestern state."
Iowa became the first state in the Midwest to allow same-sex marriage after the state Supreme Court ruled that an Iowa ban on such marriages was unconstitutional.