The real victims of gay marriage

"It's a storm that I guess I saw coming," says former Council Bluffs resident Harold Carter. "That's why I left Iowa and took a lower paying job in Omaha. But, you know... my mom keeps calling and begging me to stay in Council Bluffs and commute to work. It's only five miles, she tells me. Well, I moved out to the west side so it's more like fifteen, but whatever." Carter is a member of a growing number of Iowans who have been adversely affected by the states recent legalization of gay nuptials - men whose mother's want them to finally settle down and get married. "I have always been very accepting of my son's homosexuality," says Harold's mother Susan. "When the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, I was overjoyed. I thought at long last my boy could settle down and live a respected normal life. But now I'm faced with the harsh reality that I've raised a child who for whatever reason simply refuses to tie the knot. It's a heartache that's almost more than I can bear." "I don't even have a steady relationship," protests Harold. "I mean, I've got a lot of friends, but right now I just don't want to be tied down. And I'm only twenty-three, for Pete's sake. I've got a lot of things I want to do, but my mom is just obsessed with me getting married. She's driving me friggin' nuts." "It's funny that he happened to mention Pete," says Mrs. Carter, "because Harold and Pete would make the cutest couple. I understand that he may think he's not ready to settle down, but I keep telling him that's what marriage is all about, discovering the future together. Pastor Brown thinks so too, and he's eager to help those two kids get started off on a life together. And the Fellowship Community Church would be just wonderful. They can seat over four hundred, and I do so want a big wedding." "I don't know," says Harold, "I'm thinking of moving South, Kansas maybe, or even Arkansas. Anywhere, really, as long as it's a little less tolerant than Iowa."