DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of conservative lawmakers proposes cutting the salaries of Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined in a unanimous ruling that legalized gay marriage in Iowa.
Republican Rep. Larry Sheets of Moulton, who is joining four other lawmakers in backing the effort, acknowledges it’s a longshot, but he says it’s important to draw attention to the ruling. Sheets says the justices “overstepped their constitutional boundaries.”
The amendment would reduce the salaries of the remaining four justices who joined in the 2009 ruling from about $163,000 annually to $25,000.
The pay cut wouldn’t be implemented unless voters approved a constitutional amendment stating that marriage was between a man and a woman. It would take approval of two legislative assemblies elected in consecutive elections before a measure could be referred to voters.
