Smokey Row Coffee house was packed Saturday morning for the Eggs & Issues forum with state lawmakers, and the main issue for many was the Iowa Marriage Amendment.

Many who attended the forum were sporting blue “Let Us Vote” stickers, which showed their support for allowing the people to vote on an amendment to the Iowa Constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Curt Block asked Democratic state Rep. Eric Palmer: “Would you be willing to get that (The Iowa Marriage Amendment) passed out of committee and on to the floor?”

Palmer said that a district court judge had found the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional, and that ruling is under review by the Iowa Supreme Court.

“I’m confident that the Supreme Court will deal with it,” Palmer said.

Palmer said that if we amended the constitution for a bad decision, we’d be doing it 30 times a year.

Pastor Bill Tweed argued that the people elect legislators to make laws, not judges, and that the people do not have recourse with judges. He said people have a hard time finding information on judges’ records. Also, if gays are allowed to marry in Iowa, many pastors and churches would face prosecution for denying gays marriage, which goes against the pastors’ religious beliefs.

“We do have a chance to vote out judges,” Palmer replied.

Also, Palmer said people can find information on judges’ rulings and opinions at Iowa Courts Online.

An audience member said the Iowa Supreme Court had upheld the divorce of a lesbian couple in 2003, so he did not have confidence in the court to overturn the district judge’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act. He also cited an organization’s “Family Issue Scorecard” that gave Palmer and Democratic state Sen. Tom Rielly low marks.

Both Palmer and Rielly took exception to the scorecard rating.

Palmer cited his votes on issues such as expanded medical insurance for children that other groups gave him marks for voting pro-family. Palmer also said he voted to lift the ban on stem cell research that would help combat juvenile diabetes.

“That’s pro-family,” he said. “It’s a matter of definitions."

Palmer also said the anti-bullying bill that was passed this past year covered everyone — not just gay and trans-gendered students. The bill included the language: “including but not limited to ...,” he said.

Rielly was inflamed by the accusation that he is not “pro-family.”