A group working to repeal gay marriage legislation in Iowa received more than $3 million federal dollars between 2004 and 2009.

Two subsidiaries of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distributed the money to the Christian-based Iowa Family Policy Center. The IFPC uses this money to plan weekend retreats for marital and pre-marital counseling.

In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court legalized marriage. Since then, the IFPC has been pressuring lawmakers to put an amendment on the ballot that would outlaw it again.

“The Iowa Legislature outlawed smoking in an effort to improve health and reduce the medical costs that are oftenpassed on to the state,” IFPC President Chuck Hurley said in a statement. “The secondhand impacts of certain homosexual acts are arguably more destructive, and potentially more costly to society than smoking. Homosexual activity is certainly more dangerous for the individuals who engage in it than is smoking.”

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