"Though it takes great courage for gays to marry in a handful of states now, one hopes that someday, throughout the nation, gay marriages, like my parents’ union, will just be seen as marriages."

I like this story but Iowa is not conservative. Iowa is more liberal than conservative. There is no death penalty in Iowa.

Technically, eastern liberal Iowa dominates western conservative Iowa.

Iowa has always been more accepting of diverse views.

My parents had to leave the state they lived in to get married too.