Yesterday, over 800 pastors in the Buckeye State delivered copies of a petition and letter to Iowa legislators demanding they support efforts to amend the state constitution to overturn the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2009 decision that legalized same-gender marriage. With the June 8th state primaries fast approaching, organizers told the Associated Press that “they want candidates to know they would pay a price if they oppose referring a constitutional amendment to voters that would overturn the court’s decision.”

Both conservative and liberal faith groups have been lobbying gubernatorial candidates and the state legislature around marriage equality, which is expected to be a major issue in the upcoming race for governor. Iowa’s current governor and legislative leadership are strongly in favor of same-gender marriage, and have played critical roles in halting past efforts aimed at rolling back marriage equality.

Elsewhere…

D.C. – GetEQUAL comes under the media lens: The Advocate (uncritically) looks at the group’s origins, while The Bilerico Project tries to follow the money, and promises a future look at how the organization approaches (or doesn’t) accountability towards the larger LGBT community and its donors. (The Advocate, The Bilerico Project)

D.C. – Soon domestic partners of current and retired federal employees, plus those of US Postal Service workers, can start claiming their benefits from the federal government. (Towleroad)

D.C. – Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says keeing DADT is an issue of religious freedom. (The Advocate)

Hawaii – Hawaii Rep. Charles Djou has some strange ideas about DADT. Still, they got him to vote for repeal… (Towleroad)

UK – The United Kingdom’s youngest mayor is 23, and gay. (The Advocate)

Iran – Gay KLM flight attendants are asking to be excused of flying to Iran to, you know, avoid the possibility of being arrested and executed. KLM says no, presumably because they’re waiting for a crisis to erupt to make things really dangerous for LGBT personnel because they don’t have enough staff to fill any new slots on Iran-bound flights. (The Advocate)

Related posts:

1. Susan Gaertner ranks marriage equality as top priority
2. Iowa Activist Accused of Stealing for the Cause
3. One hundred Minnesota same-sex couples have wed in Iowa
4. The National: Lesbian Couple Sues Iowa Officials Over “Illegitimate” Birth Certificate
5. NOM Smears N.H. Governor for Supporting Marriage Equality