Cheney was asked about recent rulings and legislative action legalizing same-sex marriage, specifically in Iowa, at the National Press Club for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation journalism awards. His response was “I think that freedom means freedom for everyone.”

This is not the first time Cheney, who has a daughter who is a lesbian, has said publicly that he supports same-sex marriage. During a 2004 campaign stop in Davenport, Cheney differentiated himself from President George W. Bush by saying people “ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.” The caveat, of course, is that marriage laws should be decided on a state-by-state basis, Cheney said.

Cheney joins a growing chorus within the Republican Party calling for greater acceptance of same-sex couples. Earlier this year, Steve Schmidt, the senior campaign strategist for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, and McCain’s daughter, Meghan, saig the GOP’s opposition to same-sex marriage is wrong on both political and moral grounds.

But the delegation from Iowa, the newest same-day registration state, is not united, with Rep. Steve King voicing his opposition.Harkin is cosponsoring Senate Bill 2959, first offered by Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana has also co-sponsored the bill.

All four co-sponsors are Democrats from states with election-day voter registration. The issue has a long partisan history. A Democratic Iowa legislature passed election-day registration in the 1980s, but Republican Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed the bill. When Democrats took over the state government trifecta of House, Senate, and governor in the 2006 election, same-day registration was high on the priority list for the 2007 session.

The law took effect Jan. 1 of this year and faces its first major test in the June 3 primary. The largest election to use the procedure thus far was last week’s Polk County special election, where a $132 million courthouse bond was defeated. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald told the Des Moines Register that only 20 or 30 voters, out of more than 31,000, used the election-day registration procedure.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have both had same-day registration for three decades. “Same-day registration works. It encourages people to be engaged and interested in the issues facing our country,” said Klobuchar. “This bill gives a voice to every American who wants to vote.”

“There are plenty of constitutional reasons why it’s a bad idea,” said King, arguing that a national bill would violate the principle of federalism and invite voter fraud.

“The argument is Republicans are opposed to things that make it easier to vote,” King said. “No, we’re opposed to things that erode the integrity of the people who are legitimate voters.”

Researchers at Iowa State University and the University of Georgia collaborated on the Family and Community Health Study, thought to be the largest in-depth study of black families in the nation. About 900 families — 2,000 people — have participated in the study since 1995.

“These are the topics that haven’t received much attention — what is it like growing up black in a mostly white state?” said Frederick Gibbons, an ISU researcher who studies health-risk behaviors.

The factors that contribute to delinquency, school suspensions and incarceration have garnered increased scrutiny from researchers as officials and activists in Iowa continue to seek solutions to the racial disparities in prisons and schools.

Researchers collected data from the participants about their neighborhoods, parenting styles, substance use, mental health, school involvement and experience with discrimination. Iowa participants reported experiencing more discrimination than participants in Georgia, according to the report. Their experience can be used to predict future school problems and substance abuse, Gibbons said. But supportive parenting, a focus on academics and cohesive neighborhoods can serve as buffers, the study found.

“Even among good students, discrimination has a bad effect,” he said.

The on-going study explores the unique issues facing black youth in both states. Blacks account for 30 percent of Georgia’s population, compared with about 2.3 percent in Iowa. About 25 percent of the participants were considered below federal poverty guidelines, but all income levels were represented, researchers said. Each family had a 10-year old child when the study began, which allowed researchers to look at their lives before the onset of adolescence. Participants were interviewed face-to-face, videotaped, and they participated in experiments, researchers said. The Iowa families hailed from Des Moines and Waterloo.

“Most of the youth are doing just fine,” said researcher Carolyn Cutrona, of ISU’s Institute for Social and Behavioral Research.

She reported that 42 percent of the Iowa participants were suspended from school; nearly 30 percent experienced “trouble with the law”; and 2.7 percent were incarcerated. The figures were lower in all three categories for Georgia participants.

“Even Stevie Wonder could see the challenges facing Iowa right now,” said state Rep. Wayne Ford, D-Des Moines, who has been instrumental in the project since its inception and who serves as a consultant.

Data from the study will be used to help researchers predict incarceration and school suspension rates, the researchers said. They also plan to interview participants who have been incarcerated to glean more about their experiences.

Next month, at Ford’s suggestion, the researchers will ask the federal government for $2.2 million to create a center to study the causes of racial disparities, such as in schools and the criminal justice system, in mostly white states, Gibbons said.

“There are issues that are unique to that setting that no one has looked at before,” Gibbons said. “No such centers exist.”

Walter Reed Jr., Iowa Department of Human Rights director, said his family participated in the study, which emphasized a need for “warm, supportive parenting” and “cohesive communities.” The Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans is also studying black families and communities through the Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa, he said.

“If the world is going to be different — if Iowa is going to be different –African-American families, those who are interested and the churches can’t sit on the sidelines any longer,” he said, during a presentation of the study findings last Friday at the State Capitol.

The project received financial support from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.