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7/3/15, 4:57 PMState legislators speak on marriage, religious freedom and avian flu - E…s, Sports, Jobs, North Central Iowa, Emmet County — The Estherville News
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State legislators speak onmarriage, religious freedomand avian fluJuly 1, 2015
Amy H. Peterson - Staff Writer (apeterson@esthervillenews.net) , Estherville News
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When State Senator Dennis Guth (R Klemme) and RepresentativeTedd Gassman (R- Scarville) visited the area Monday, they weighedin with the Estherville News on a variety of topics relevant to NorthIowa and House District 7.
Senator Dennis Guth says the Supreme Court ruling in Ogbergefell v.Hodgins "created an important national debate on religious freedom."He said, "the court is legislating, instead of interpreting the law, andit raises concerns that the federal government is becoming thethought police. This could extend to policing what we can and cannotsay in church."
Representative Tedd Gassman said, "The ruling will give rise to manyproblems. It seems very reactionary and unwise."
"Iowa needs a religious liberty law," Guth said. "It would besomething like the religious freedom law from 1993."
On Nov. 16, 1993, President Clinton signed the Religious FreedomRestoration Act. The Supreme Court ruled in City of Boerne v. Floresin 1997 that the Act was unconstitutional and not a proper use ofCongressional power. Twenty individual states have since passedstate-level Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that apply to stateand local government offices. The three years the federal Act was inplace gave rise to 337 federal lawsuits, 18 percent involving Jewish,Muslim and Native Americans pressing for their free exercise ofreligion.
"It would be difficult to pass a state Act with (Senator Mike) Gronstalleading the Senate," Guth said. "I hope to be part of passing a lawthat states no one has to violate his or her conscience, whether it's apharmacist declining to dispense and abortifacient or a bakerdeclining to bake a cake for a gay wedding. For people with deeplyreligious beliefs, they still cannot discriminate, but they should beprotected from being forced to celebrate that which violates theirreligion."
Gassman said a marriage issue more relevant to Iowa is divorce law,and he is writing a new bill for the upcoming legislative session. "Ourdivorce laws leave a lot of children in the lurch." A previous versionof the bill, which passed through House subcommittee in 2013,would make no-fault divorce illegal for parents of minor children. The2016 bill would be similar, with a goal of keeping families together.
"I sincerely believe that the family is the foundation of this nationand this nation will go the direction of our families," Gassman said.
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7/3/15, 4:57 PMState legislators speak on marriage, religious freedom and avian flu - E…s, Sports, Jobs, North Central Iowa, Emmet County — The Estherville News
Page 2 of 2http://esthervillenews.net/page/content.detail/id/521355/State-legislators-speak-on-marriage--religious-freedom-and-avian-flu.html?nav=5003
"The strength of the family reflects the strength of the nation."
In other projections for the next legislative session, Guth said,"Budget issues were a little tight this year. If the price of corn andsoybeans don't shoot up, they will be a lot tight next year."
Guth has a particular concern for Wright County as they producemore laying hens than any other county in the nation. Of 7 millionhens, half have been euthanized due to the avian flu.
"It will take a long time to replace all those chickens. We don't evenknow when they can start, but from that point it can take 18 monthsto replace them. The avian flu is a big deal and the effects havetrickled down to all the related industries."
The 7 million chickens would have eaten 7 million bushels of feedcorn across the state, that's 30 million bushels that will not beconsumed.
"We could start vaccinating our chickens, but then we lose all theforeign markets because they will refuse vaccinated chickens."
An egg carton manufacturer is on the brink of closing when WrightCounty is again able to raise healthy chickens, they will need anothersupplier of egg cartons. Feed mills, grain processors, equipmentdealers are all affected. Four hundred people have filed forunemployment insurance in Wright County alone since the outbreak.
"Our goal is to find new markets once they are up and runningagain," Guth said.
If there is one positive thing emerging from the worst animaloutbreak in Iowa's history, it's that there are actually plenty of eggsacross the United States. "We lost all the export market," Guth said.Consumers might not see a huge effect here.
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