Brad Sherman opposed marriage equality and LGBTQ rights through religious objections, and sponsored measures that sought to ban same-sex marriage and embed a restrictive definition of marriage into the Iowa Constitution. He reaffirmed those views in public remarks rooted in religious objections and signaled he would continue pursuing that agenda if elected governor.
2025: Sherman Attacked Obergefell v. Hodges, Claiming It was An Act Of “Judicial Activism,” And Criticized Issuance Of Same-Sex Marriage Licenses. According to Sherman’s interview with the Iowa Standard Interview, “So, you know, what I’m really focusing on here is the judicial activism. If Iowans want a same sex marriage law, then let the legislature pass that bill and change the code. Okay. But but that's not what happened when same sex marriage was instituted in Iowa. It was a judicial activism that totally ignored the law that's been in place. And they changed the definition of marriage. And they instructed county clerks all over the state to start issuing a same sex marriage license.” [Brad Sherman – Iowa Standard Interview, 9/10/25] (VIDEO)
2025: Sherman Invoked Religious Doctrine While Saying He Did Not “Subscribe” To Homosexuality And Opposed Marriage Equality. According to Sherman’s interview with the Iowa Standard Interview, “So the real issue here is, is not whether I want to ban it. It's like is the is it really right for for judges to actually change and legislate from the bench? And so, you know, I don't subscribe to same sex and homosexuality. If somebody does, I think they deserve the respect of any other human being. I'm not going to persecute them for it. But words have definitions. You know, one of my heroes and one of my founding father heroes is Noel Webster. I mean, he doesn't get billed as a hero sometimes. But this guy was was an amazing man. He was a master of 28 languages. And, of course, as you know, he wrote the dictionary. He put together the dictionary of the American language, and he understood something. And he understood that if we change the definition of words, a culture cannot survive. Words have to have standard meanings, and they have to mean something. And so marriage is, has always been between male and female. And it not only that, in the scripture, marriage is a model of Christ in the church. And so when we change the definition of it, it's not only changing the definition of a word, it's it's undermining the the example that God set up for for the model of Christ in the church and how we're supposed to relate to Christ. So that's that's a huge issue.” [Brad Sherman – Iowa Standard Interview, 9/10/25] (VIDEO)
2025: Sherman Framed LGBTQ+ Rights As A Religious And Moral Issue And Claimed Government “Forced” Them On Others. According to Sherman’s interview with the Iowa Standard Interview, “This is not an attack on homosexual people. You know, that's a moral issue between them and God. It's not government's issue. But when when it gets forced on everybody through government, then it becomes a government issue. And so that's that's my position on that. It's one of those things where you have to make clear people often interpret that as just being, oh, I hate gay people. Well, that's not the case. That's not that's not we're talking about it. It's not even on the radar. You know, we care about all people. You know, we have different opinions on lots of things. But and so even strong opinions. But that's that's my position on that.” [Brad Sherman – Iowa Standard Interview, 9/10/25] (VIDEO)
September 2025: Sherman Opposed Same-Sex Marriage, Argued That Redefining Marriage Undermined His Religious Beliefs, And Indicated He Would Revisit The Issue As Governor. According to Sherman’s interview with the Iowa Standard Interview, “HOST: Just a couple of years ago, you proposed legislation. I believe it was legislation as well as a resolution regarding same-sex marriage here in Iowa. Go ahead and talk about what those would have done. And then talk a little bit about if that's something you would continue to pursue as governor of Iowa. SHERMAN: Yeah. Well first I’ve learned to say this, same same-sex marriage was already banned in Iowa. In fact, it's already in the code. It's still in the code today. You can go to the Iowa code book and look it up and it says only marriage between a male and a female shall be considered valid.” [Brad Sherman – Iowa Standard Interview, 9/10/25] (VIDEO)
February 2023: Sherman Sponsored A Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage Between One Man And One Woman. In February 2023, according to the Iowa Legislature, Brad Sherman was a sponsor of House Joint Resolution 8, which proposed adding a new section to the Iowa Constitution stating: “In accordance with the laws of nature and nature’s God, the state of Iowa recognizes the definition of marriage to be the solemnized union between one human biological male and one human biological female.” The legislation did not advance. [Iowa Legislature – House Joint Resolution 8; Iowa House Of Representatives, Introduced 2/28/23]
2023: Sherman Sponsored Legislation To Ban Same-Sex Marriage And Claimed The Bills Did Not Violate Civil Rights. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “The lead sponsor of two bills that would outlaw gay marriage in Iowa—where it has been legal since 2009—told his Iowa House colleague his bills aren’t actually about banning gay marriage despite the language in the bills doing just that. Starting Line acquired a copy of an email Rep. Brad Sherman (R-Williamsburg) sent from his legislative account late Wednesday afternoon to all representatives in the House in which he defended the bills and the rationale behind them. In the email, Sherman said, ‘many of the objections appear to be based largely on misguided emotions without understanding the actual bills.’ […] Sherman also said the bills don’t violate anyone’s civil rights—they do—and that they aren’t telling same-sex couples what to believe because ‘if they want to call their relationship a marriage, they are free to do so; that is freedom. But by the same token, people who do not define same-sex unions as marriage must not be forced to do so.’” [Iowa Starting Line, 3/2/23]