Stories

The Senate Ethics Committee unanimously voted to reject an ethics complaint filed against Republican state Sen. Merlin Bartz of Grafton alleging he violated his oath of office by encouraging county recorders to break the law.
The complaint was filed by former Democratic state Rep. Ed Fallon and his wife, Lynn. Bartz used the resources of the [...]

A formal complaint filed against Republican state Sen. Merlin Bartz of Grafton will be heard Tuesday by the Iowa Senate ethics committee.
The complaint, filed by former state Rep. Ed Fallon and his wife Lynn, alleges Bartz used his office and public resources to encourage other elected officials to disobey state law.

Leaders of Iowa’s Republican Party are taking heat from social conservatives for a perceived lack of action on the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
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.

Caught in an interesting position between State Sen. Merlin Bartz (R-Grafton) on one side and same-sex marriage advocates on the other, the Iowa ACLU determined today that it would represent any same-sex couples who are denied marriage licenses by a county recorder while also offering to defend the man who is asking county recorders to [...]

An Arizona-based Christian nonprofit is offering free legal defense to any of Iowa’s 99 county recorders who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Former Democratic state Rep. Ed Fallon has filed a formal ethics complaint against Republican state Sen. Merlin Bartz for “encouraging Iowans to pressure county recorders to break the law when same-sex couples begin to request marriage licenses.”
Bartz has begun a petition drive asking opponents of same-sex marriage to collect signatures and deliver them to county [...]

County recorders do not have the authority to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

State Sen. Merlin Bartz (R-Grafton) has enlisted the help of the Iowa Family Policy Center to circulate petitions designed to encourage Iowa’s 99 county recorders to defy the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien that effectively legalized same-sex marriage.
According to instructions emailed out to the Iowa Family Policy Center’s members and posted on [...]

County recorders who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples would be exempt from prosecution or civil penalties under an amendment filed by Republican state Sen. Merlin Bartz of Grafton.