DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Republican Gov.-elect Terry Branstad is calling for a vote to ban gay marriage and equating a Democratic leader with a dictator for not allowing senators to take up the matter.
Speaking Monday at a gathering organized by The Associated Press, Branstad says he expects the Republican-control House to approve the referral of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to voters. But Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal vows to block action on the referral, which he says would enshrine discrimination in the state constitution.
Branstad says the issue hurt Democrats in last month's election, and he was clearly referring to Gronstal when he stated that "just because you're a leader in the Legislature doesn't mean you're a dictator."
Gronstal responded that dictators take away people's rights, and he won't do that.
View more on November's vote where 3 Iowa Supreme Court justices were voted off the bench.
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