Same-sex couples come to Iowa to marry

Less than half of same-sex couples married in Iowa in the last year were state residents.

Of the 2,020 same-sex marriages recorded from April 27, 2009 through March 31, 2010 815 were couples from Iowa, according the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).

In Plymouth County there have been about five same-sex marriages recorded since the practice became legal in Iowa in April 2009, said Jolynn Goodchild, county recorder.

"We had those few right away," she said. "We haven't had one for a long time."

There were 56 same-sex marriages recorded in Woodbury County and less than three in both Sioux and Cherokee counties.

Polk County had the most same-sex marriages with 484; Scott County had 238; Johnson County had 235; and Pottawattamie County had 222, the IDPH report stated.

Among gay couples marrying in Iowa, 728 were two men and 1,292 were two women.

In the recorded time period, 19,904 couples were married in Iowa, according to the IDPH.

Of those, 16,869 were listed as "opposite gender" and 1,015 were listed as "not stated."

In an unanimous decision the Iowa Supreme court ruled April 3, 2009 existing Iowa law that limited civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.

The high court's ruling made Iowa the first Midwest state to legalize same-sex marriage.