An Iowa Republican lawmaker wants to create a state record of married people’s sexual orientations.
Writing for The Gazette, Adam Sullivan called the bill a “stunning and downright creepy display of government overreach.”
“State Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme, is sponsoring Senate File 2130, which would require Iowans applying for a marriage license to disclose their sexual orientation. It’s one of several bills introduced in the Iowa Legislature this year seeking to limit protections for LGBTQ Iowans,” Sullivan writes. “Under the proposal, ‘fraudulent concealment of sexual orientation’ is likened to domestic abuse. Lying about your sexuality, as determined by the state, would be considered as a key factor in custody proceedings when a marriage is dissolved.”
According to Sen. Guth, the inspiration for the bill came from one of his constituents whose marriage fell apart after she found out her husband was gay.
“[H]er spouse falsified his sexual orientation and then later on she was not able to reveal that when she went to court,” Guth said. “So this is just going to allow people in that specific situation to voice this in court.”
Read more at The Gazette.