The Iowa Pride Network has released the finding from its 2009 School Climate Survey. Click to access the full report.

The Iowa Pride Network, a statewide organization that works to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning students, released its 2009 School Climate Survey today, the third in the biennial series.

While the 203 students who agreed to take the survey reported a decrease in the number of verbal attacks based on sexual orientation, gender or race, they also reported a significant increase in the amount of physical violence in their lives.

And, from responses to new questions added to the survey this year, it is clear that harassment and abusive situations are much more likely to begin a chain of events that can lead to LGBT students harboring suicidal thoughts.

“The whole point of the study is that it can serve as a guidepost for the public, community stakeholders, teachers and principals so that they can really take a look and reflect on where we are now,” said Ryan Roemerman, executive director of IPN.

“No matter how wonderful a teacher or administrator may think their school is, there is something valid in this survey for everyone. They can look at what these students have reported and decide what they could be doing better, because we know that we can always do better.”

The 2007 survey results were collected before the impact of legislative-mandated changes to the state’s Civil Rights Act and anti-bullying policies to include references to sexual orientation and gender identity could be assessed. Since the 2009 survey was the first that would measure the effectiveness of the changes, organizers were hoping to see movement toward greater student safety. What they found, however, was that more than half of the survey respondents did not know what the Iowa Safe Schools law is, and that roughly 72 percent did not feel that their school had adopted such a law.

“It seems like that since we have a safe schools law that everything should be find, but it is not fine,” Roemerman said. “As we all know, a law isn’t any good unless it is enforced.”

Surveys were collected earlier this year from May to June, and included 88 LGBT students, 86 LGBT-affirming straight students and 29 non-LGBT-affirming straight students. Although the surveys were distributed and collected in the months directly following an Iowa Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage in the state, there was no direct question about the current event as a part of the survey. While it may seem reasonable to believe that some of the tension and celebration surrounding that event may be reflected within the survey results, Roemerman said there is simply no way to measure the role of marriage equality in the results.

“I can’t say that because there wasn’t a question on that,” Roemerman said. “I think we can pretty much access that students do pick up on what they hear in their home, but I don’t know if that was reflected in these students’ feelings or not. I’m sure some people might draw that conclusion, but I’m not going to. But, I think that some people might look at that as a possibility.”

When compared with 2007 results, the 2009 survey respondents were less likely to report having heard a homophobic remark in their school, and were also less likely to have been verbally or physically harassed — pushed or shoved — because of their sexual orientation. The 2009 results regarding physical assault — punching, kicking or weapon injuries — were significantly higher than what was reported in either 2007 or 2005. Sixteen percent of students reported some incident of physical assault because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.

“How I look at bullying and harassment is that it often starts with the verbal,” Roemerman said. “You know, a student will say things like ‘you are gay’ or ‘you are a faggot’ and it will start there. If no one intervenes then it tends to move to harassment. And then, after harassment, it starts to move to actual physical assault. So, to me, if we can stop the verbal harassment where it starts, then I think we are on a good path.”

Because IPN is seeing an uptick in violence, the group is launching a “Make It Real” manual that will help students understand the law changes, and how each can be applied to different situations. An online public service announcement about the manual and where to download it is also being distributed through social networking and other affiliated groups.

Roemerman reports that IPN has also worked closely with the Iowa Department of Education to create a standardized incident report form used by the schools and received by the state to include a check box for all the categories specified in the safe schools law.

“There was this jumbled narrative as to why someone was harassed,” he said. “What we asked the Department of Education to do was develop a report that would have all the categories so that the state can really monitor and find out how many students get picked because of sexual orientation or race. They will actually be able to have hard numbers instead of having a certain percentage of the incidents just being listed as ‘other’ on a form.”

The new reporting form is being piloted this year, according to Roemerman, and is expected to become a mandatory practice next year.

Another key piece for IPN is the creation of a Safe Schools Certification Program to reward schools that do reach beyond the basics of what is required to ensure that their staff and students understand the law.

“There is a difference between a school that simply says to look in this section of the student handbook, or to view this file on a Web site, to find out what the law is and a school that is really pro-active,” Roemerman said. “Technically, those schools that do the least are fulfilling their requirement, but what we are looking for is schools to go beyond that. We are looking for schools to make sure that their teachers discuss it and that their students know what it means and how they are protected.”

In addition to the new programs, IPN will continue to foster a network of gay-straight alliances and diversity groups throughout the state.

“It’s important to have these groups available because these are spaces where students feel comfortable,” Roemerman said.

In order to help all of Iowa’s students feel safe why they are at school, all Iowans — administrators, teachers, parents and even the general public — are going to need to become more involved.

“We know that students who feel they are not safe skip school, and that impacts their academic achievement. We also know that students who reported that they felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation were two times as likely as those who had not felt unsafe to report that they had considered suicide. Students who were verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation were 93 percent more likely to have considered suicide,” Roemerman said.

“This was the first time that we asked questions about suicidal thoughts and, for me, what we found was just really disturbing.”

Both issues are big topics in the Hawkeye State. The Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in April, and since that time Iowa Republicans have repeatedly demanded the legislature pass a constitutional amendment overturning the decision. That amendment would eventually go to the voters to decide.

Marriage equality advocates in Iowa kept a watchful eye on Maine for months, knowing one day they could have to fight that battle themselves. The organization leading the fight against same-sex marriage in Main and across the country, the National Organization for Marriage, has already vowed to dedicate time and resources in Iowa.

“We were watching this election closely in Iowa as it is a precursor to we will be up against,” said Carolyn Jenison, executive director of the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group One Iowa. “Our hearts go out to the couples in Maine who have lost something so dear and central to being an America family.”

Maine is the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Iowa and four other states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont — allow same-sex marriage.

Iowa conservatives are pointing to the Maine decision as proof that the issue could be a big advantage to Republicans in 2010.

“There is no doubt that a marriage amendment would find overwhelming support here in Iowa, yet Gov. [Chet] Culver, Speaker Pat Murphy and [Senate] Majority Leader Mike Gronstal are preventing the vote from taking place,” conservative blogger and former Republican Party of Iowa Political Director Craig Robinson wrote Wednesday. “While that strategy might help propel their liberal philosophy, it could hurt them at the ballot box next November.”

Gronstal and Murphy have repeatedly said the same-sex marriage issue will never be debated as long as they lead their respective legislative chambers.

Maine voters approved an expansion of the conditions that would qualify for medical marijuana and allows for a statewide system of storefront distribution centers. The Iowa Pharmacy Board has held a series of hearings around the state on the topic of medical marijuana, and state Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, introduced a bill during the 2009 legislative session to allow the possession and use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

Rod Roberts

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rod Roberts of Carroll supports the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices that are up for retention votes in 2010 due to their verdict legalizing same-sex marriage earlier this year.

Roberts said he will personally vote “no” on all three who will appear on the ballot — Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker — and will use his campaign to encourage Iowans to do the same.

“We need to send a message to the Iowa Supreme Court that they are accountable to the people of Iowa,” Roberts said. “The problem with judicial activism is that it thwarts the will of the legislature and of the people of Iowa. Next November, it is our duty as voters to let these justices know what we think of their judicial activism.”

Roberts has long been critical of the court’s April decision in Varnum v. Brien, in which six same-sex couples sued Polk County Recorder Timothy Brien for not issuing them marriage licenses. The court unanimously ruled that Iowa’s law denying same-sex couples the right to marry violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.

In Iowa, Supreme Court judges are up for retention every eight years.

Appearing on the show of controversial Christian radio host Steve Deace, Vander Plaats once again said if elected governor in 2010 he would issue an executive order stopping same-sex marriage until the legislature either passes a law legalizing it or passes a constitutional amendment banning it.

“I can’t give the people the right to vote on this, but I think I can mobilize people like [Senate Majority Leader Mike] Gronstal and [House Speaker Pat] Murphy by saying no more same-sex marriages until you step up and vote to make this law,” Vander Plaats said.

After doing so, he said he fully expects Democrats to try to remove him from office for “promoting lawlessness.”

“I would like to have that debate, because then Pat Murphy has to go back to his people in Dubuque and tell them we’re going to impeach Vander Plaats because he wants the legislature to do its job in the constitution and he also wants to give you the right to vote,” he said.  “I don’t think that would play very well.”

Mark Kende, director of Drake University’s Constitutional Law Center, said the governor lacks the authority to issue an executive order freezing a decision by the Iowa Supreme Court. And while they disagree on many things, that is “pretty well accepted constitutional law by scholars who are both conservative and liberal.”

If Vander Plaats were to issue such an order, it could result in a constitutional crisis the likes of which the country hasn’t seen since desegregation cases in the Deep South, Kende said. Local officials, who are responsible for issuing marriage licenses, would be stuck between the governor’s executive order and an earlier order from the Iowa Attorney General’s office explaining to county recorders that they have no authority to ignore the court’s ruling.

Ultimately, desegregation cases were settled in the south by the federal government using troops to support the court, an option that is unlikely in Iowa.

“Courts do depend on the executive branch for enforcement, and regular executive disobedience would result in numerous crises,” Kende said. “This is what has happened in some other countries where the executive ignores the judiciary, such as Zimbabwe to give just one example.”

Vander Plaats said the Iowa Supreme Court overstepped its authority when on April 3 it issued an order striking down the state’s Defense of Marriage Act and legalizing same-sex marriage.

“If the Supreme Court goes out of bounds, who holds them in check?” he said. “I believe that’s where the executive branch comes in, to hold them in check. “

How to oppose same-sex marriage has been a focal point of a debate raging within the Republican Party of Iowa. Last month, Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King of Kiron publicly criticized those calling on elected officials to ignore the court’s ruling, saying the only method available to Iowans to stop same-sex marriage is a constitutional amendment.

King’s opinion, which he shared in a guest column for The Des Moines Register, drew harsh criticism from Deace and conservative activist Bill Salier, who said elected officials must be willing to confront the judicial branch, as well as ignore decisions they disagree with.

More recently, Vander Plaats attacked another GOP gubernatorial hopeful, Christopher Rants, for saying the governor does not have the authority to issue such an order.

Justin Uebelhor, communications director of One Iowa, said the video is a part of the organization’s “Extreme Right Watch.” It features Deace, who hosts an afternoon show on Iowa’s largest radio station, discussing whether county recorders should obey the law and abide by the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize gay marriage.

Republican state Sen. Merlin Bartz of Grafton spearheaded a petition drive trying to convince county recorders to ignore the ruling and refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. When the effort failed, Deace warned that the price of obeying the law was steep.

“If you are a county recorder today or any local official, and you are either enabling or equipping or facilitating or assisting essentially sodomy permission licenses, aka, marriage licenses to homosexuals, I just might remind you that Hell is really hot and a really forever place,” he said.

Carolyn Jenison, executive director of One Iowa, called Deace’s rhetoric “destructive and divisive.”

“Iowans believe in treating each other with fairness and respect,” she said. “There’s no place in a civil discussion for the divisive rhetoric displayed on Deace’s show.”

The past few months have put the spotlight on Deace’s program like never before. He has been highly critical of Republican leadership, especially Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley and Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn, for what he deems as a lack of action on the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

In May, he and his pastor, Bob Deever of Grace West Church in West Des Moines, spent an hour of the program calling into question the faith of state Sen. Matt McCoy, saying he couldn’t be a Christian because he is openly gay. Deace later reminisced about the days when a homosexual could not “live this way without any sort of societal retribution for them.”

When Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller was assassinated earlier this month, Deace made national news by celebrating his death, saying “babies in Kansas are safer today than they were yesterday while George Tiller was still taking in oxygen.”

However, Deace is no stranger to controversy. In 2004, Deace garned headlines when he criticized Shawn Green, a Jewish outfielder who at the time played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for missing an important game scheduled during Yom Kippur. Deace said Green could solve all his problems by converting to Christianity and recognizing Jesus Christ as his Messiah.

The One Iowa video is below. In addition to his afternoon talk show, Deace co-hosts a morning sports talk show, and his co-host, Jon Miller, is asking the questions in the video.

In a statement to the media, Vander Plaats said if elected he would sign an executive order banning same-sex marriages as part of an effort “to give Iowans the right to vote on the issue.”

Rants, who successfully passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004 when he was Speaker of the House (it never passed the Iowa Senate, effectively killing it), has said the governor does not have the authority to issue such an order, a position supported by legal experts and constitutional scholars.

“With all due respect to Rep. Rants, I believe that’s the kind of leadership that’s brought us from being the majority in the state to being the minority in the state,” Vander Plaats said. “When you give complete power over to the Supreme Court, you’ll have tyranny not liberty.”

Vander Plaats has said repeatedly that he believes it is within the governor’s power to issue an executive order putting the Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage on hold.

“Executives need to lead,” he said. “This is not about winning the office it’s about leading. That’s what separates me from anyone else out there.”

This isn’t the first time Republicans have publicly debated the power of the state’s highest court since its April 3 ruling. Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King took heat from conservative activists last month when he said the only way to legally overturn same-sex marriage in Iowa is to pass a constitutional amendment, as courts have had the power to interpret the law since the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison.

Neither Vander Plaats nor Rants have officially entered the gubernatorial race.

Rants did not respond to a request for comment.

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.

King said last month’s decision by the Iowa Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage is “lawless” and called on Iowans to amend the Iowa Constitution to “protect marriage from the courts.”

However, he also criticized those who call for elected officials to ignore the ruling, saying judicial review — the court’s authority to declare laws unconstitutional — exists, and arguments to the contrary have the same flaw:

“They contain no end game, no solution, and no resolution, while denying judicial review itself,” he said. “Like a dog chasing its tail, all of these proposals end up before the same court again, producing likely the same result we have today.

“The courts have the power to interpret the law to decide cases. Since 1803, in the case of Marbury v. Madison, the judicial branch has exercised the power of judicial review. But constitutionally there exists the right and the duty of the people to overrule the will of the court.”

Bill Salier, a former candidate for Senate and founder of the conservative group Everyday America, said he agrees with the premise that the state should amend its constitution. But in addition, elected officials must be willing to confront the judicial branch, as well as ignore decisions they disagree with. If they are not willing to do so, they should be replaced with people who are.

“When the governor stands up and says ‘I will not enforce this order.’  When the statehouse stands up and says this [law] is still on the books, and county recorders will abide by the law that is still on the books. That is the end game,” Salier said Wednesday on Steve Deace’s WHO-AM radio program. “So what if the court comes up and says ‘Uh uh.’ That’s all they can do. They don’t have any authority in this matter. They don’t have the guns, they don’t have the money. The statehouse and the governor control the law. We control them.”

There are only two possible explanations for King’s position, Salier said. Either he erred in his analysis of what to do and is now stuck defending his position or he doesn’t know that the court can be confronted.

“If it isn’t [that he doesn’t understand,] if it is because he read the political tea leaves, thought he had to move a certain way, misjudged and now he’s set his feet there… then somebody should primary King,” he said.

Salier became a hero to many social conservatives in Iowa when in 2002 he nearly defeated four-term U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske for the right to run against U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, despite opposition from the GOP establishment and being outspent 10 to 1. His campaign was focused almost entirely on social issues.

Since the court’s same-sex marriage ruling April 3, Salier has repeatedly threated primaries against incumbent Republicans whom he says haven’t responded strongly enough, including U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and leaders of the state Republican Party.

Marek said same-sex marriage is a highly emotional issue on both sides of the debate. The best way he says he can represent all of his constitutions is to see that the issue goes before the citizens of Iowa on a ballot.

“There are a lot of tough decisions to be made,” Marek noted, “and emotional feelings involved. I try to do what’s best for the area, with some people happy and some unhappy.”

If his position was characterized accurately, it would mark another disagreement between Marek and his party’s leaders in the House.  During the 2009 session, Marek helped kill union-backed legislation that would have required state-funded public works projects to pay a “prevailing wage” to workers.  House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, felt the bill was so important that he kept the voting machine open for an entire weekend, hoping Marek or another “no” vote might switch.

Marek lives in Washington County, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 2,000 registered voters. Among Democratic state representatives, his district is arguably one of the most conservative.

(h/t John Deeth)

Conservatives contend that leadership in the state senate did not push as hard as Republicans in the state house to overturn the court’s decision.

Christian radio host Steve Deace criticized Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, during his drive-time program on Iowa’s largest radio station for “feeding constituents a line of bull” about doing everything possible to stop same-sex marriage.

He continued the assault on his blog.

“McKinley’s stubborn refusal to push the Senate rules for a vote on marriage like what was done in the House is either a classic case of Bob Michel disease, or a classic case of the smartest guy in the room not wanting to do the right thing because it wasn’t his idea,” Deace said.

Robert Michel is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois who was criticized by conservatives for being too easy-going and not fighting hard enough for Republican goals in the House during its long period of Democratic control.

Deace said that when the Republican caucus in both chambers decided on new leadership this year, many social conservatives considered McKinley one of their own and House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, a “puppet of the establishment.”

“Turns out the exact opposite, at least during the 200[9] session, was true,” he said.

The liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reports anti-McKinley fliers were being distributed in Pella paid for a Virginia-based conservative group called Public Advocate of the United States.

“Like a chicken, Sen. McKinley refuses to do what it takes to get a vote on the Iowa Marriage Amendment. He says he supports it, but he won’t force those who support the destruction of Iowa families to make their position public,” the flier says.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn also received criticism from Deace, who wondered why Strawn sent out an “Action Alert” e-mail to supporters on Friday that did not mention same-sex marriage.

“There is a disconnect,” Deace said. “Why in the world would you put a plank in your platform, and when that plank is under assault from your political opponents, and it is the number one story in the state, why wouldn’t you want to alert people that this is what we stand for and this is what we believe?”

Deace also questioned why McKinley and Strawn would not speak out in support of state Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, during his push to encourage county recorders to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses as an “act of conscious.”

When contacted last week by the Iowa Independent about Bartz’s efforts, a spokesman for McKinley declined to comment and said all inquiries should be directed to Bartz.

Republican leadership seemed to respond to Deace’s admonishment Monday, with Strawn, McKinley and Paulsen issuing a joint statement on same-sex marriage blaming Democrats for the lack of action.

“Republicans in the Iowa Legislature made repeated attempts to begin the process of bringing to Iowans a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman only to be stopped cold by Democrat obstructionism and a lack of executive leadership from Governor Culver,” they said. “Whether it be the pursuit of a constitutional amendment to give Iowans the right to vote on this issue; the establishment of residency requirements to obtain marriage licenses; or the appointment of future judges–none of these options are possible as long as Chet Culver remains Governor and Democrats control the Iowa Legislature.”

In the House, Republcian lawmakers tried several times to force a vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, with each attempt ruled out of order. Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, even attempted to insert language in a Democratic tax plan defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In the Senate, McKinley made one attempt at forcing a vote on a constitutional amendment, requesting that Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, joining him in crafting the legislation. Gronstal refused and the matter was dead.