Iowa Lawmaker Says Gay Families Shouldn't Go Camping

There's a lawmaker in Iowa who has a problem with gay people pitching a tent. And no, we don't mean it in that way, but in the camping way. Smores. Fishing. Fires. Mosquito repellent.

Apparently those items are solely the domain of straight folks, and specifically straight families, according to Iowa State Senator Merlin Bartz. Senator Bartz is crying foul because, now that Iowa recognizes same-sex marriage, he's worried that his state's Department of Natural Resources is going to allow married gay couples and their children access to family camping grounds in state parks.

For Bartz, the idea of two moms or two dads roasting marshmallows next to straight people is exactly the type of horror that he was afraid of when the Iowa State Supreme Court legalized gay marriage last year.

"A lot of the advocates of gay marriage in Iowa have said, ‘It doesn’t affect anything. Nothing has changed,'" Bartz told Radio Iowa. "The reality of it is that everything is changing."

Is there anything that illustrates the rampant homophobia of opponents of gay marriage more than Senator Merlin Bartz? Here's a man who is literally trying to suggest that campgrounds should segregate LGBT families, and only allow straight people to have access to designated family camping areas. Why? Because, as Senator Bartz put it, he doesn't want state agencies like the Department of Natural Resources writing rules that extend new benefits to gays and lesbians.

Because apparently being allowed to camp next to straight families is a new benefit. Huh. And all this time I thought it was just something called equality.

Senator Bartz's comments would be ridiculous, outside of the fact that this dude actually wields some sort of power as a member of the Iowa General Assembly's Administrative Rules Review Committee. Now that sounds like potentially the most boring committee on the face of the planet, tasked with reviewing reams of organizational bylaws and policies that would make Going Rogue look like a thrilling John Grisham novel.

But alas, dull as the committee's responsibilities might sound, they're pretty important. In this case, it's this committee that will determine whether Iowa's Department of Natural Resources can change camping rules in the state park system to allow LGBT families access to specific family-area campgrounds.

They'll make this decision later this summer. In the meantime, send the members of this committee an email, letting them know that state camping policy shouldn't be a battleground for opponents of gay marriage.

Senator Bartz is entitled to his own religious or personal convictions, and if that includes a fervent opposition to gay marriage and LGBT families, so be it. But Senator Bartz's own personal opinions should not dictate state law. And Iowa law couldn't be clearer that same-sex couples and LGBT families are equally as valid as heterosexual couples and straight families. If that equality exists under Iowa law, it ought to also exist at Iowa state parks, too.

Politicizing camping is a low blow. Don't let Senator Merlin Bartz have the last say on this issue. It may just be a small rules change, but it speaks to a larger commitment of equality. Campgrounds should not be segregated based on the sexual orientation of certain family members.

Now, does anyone want smores for breakfast?

Photo credit: lorentey