Fearful that marriage equality will be in jeopardy under a second Trump administration, same-sex couples in Iowa are flocking to the altar before the president-elect is inaugurated in January – and one person is going above and beyond to help these couples down the aisle.

Through the organization Lesbians of Iowa, Chaplain Anitta Milloro has built a resource to connect couples with vendors that are willing to provide free services to queer couples, from photographers to officiants, to living will and notary services. They are currently helping more than 40 couples tie the knot.

Related

Democrats are at each other’s throats over the role of trans issues in Trump’s victory
But experts say we can find our way through.

“There’s only so long that I can sit in suffering before I have to roll up my sleeves and do something,” Milloro told Des Moines news station KCCI. “We take care of ourselves. That’s what we’ve had to do, that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

Milloro’s project, called “For A Time Such As This,” provides an interactive map that shows where free services are offered. It includes vendors not just in Iowa but all over the country. Any vendor interested in being added to the map can submit a form on the site.

The Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges currently protects marriage equality rights at the national level. But with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many fear marriage equality could be next on the chopping block, especially since Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declared he wanted to look into it.

Should the Supreme Court actually overturn marriage equality, the Respect for Marriage Act – signed by President Joe Biden in December of 2022 – would still apply. This law requires the federal and all state governments to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed in states where it’s legal.

Iowa legalized marriage equality in 2009, but some LGBTQ+ Iowans don’t trust the state GOP to protect that right. The party told KCCI that anyone saying it has plans to overturn marriage equality in the state is simply “fearmongering,” but Milloro emphasized that people simply don’t trust them.

“They believe it can happen because it happened with Roe v. Wade. So how do we take steps to protect ourselves in light of an administration that’s not going to do that for us?”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.