Gay Marriages In Iowa Bloom

If Iowa played this right it could be an economic success.

A new report from the Iowa Department of Public Health says 2,020 same-sex marriages were recorded in the state from April 27, 2009, through March 31, 2010. Only 815 of the couples were from Iowa. The newly married  included 199 gay couples from Illinois, 158 from Missouri and 111 from Nebraska.

Overall, 19,904 couples were married in Iowa during the time period. Of those, 2,020 were listed as “same gender” couples, 16,869 were listed as “opposite gender” and 1,015 were listed as “not stated.”

Among gay couples getting married here, 728 were two men, and 1,292 were two women.

Polk County had the most gay marriages, with 484; Scott County had 238; Johnson County had 235; and Pottawattamie County had 222.

Iowa became the first Midwestern state to allow gay marriage after the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Iowa ban on such marriages was unconstitutional.