Lawmakers in Iowa have announced that they will introduce a resolution to begin the process of placing a marriage referendum on the ballot and are drafting legislation to impeach the four remaining state Supreme Court justices who joined a unanimous 2009 decision that brought equal marriage to the state. But a new poll released today by the group Justice Not Politics has found that just 36 percent of Iowans favor the move. That number falls to 17 percent “after hearing the Iowa Constitution’s standard for impeachment — “misdemeanor or malfeasance“:

Interestingly, the poll also found that only 34 percent support full same-sex marriage rights, while 28% support favor “only civil unions.” Thirty-four percent of respondents said they were “against any recognition.” The results are consistent with another poll released last week by Public Policy Polling, which found that while 55 percent of Iowans oppose impeachment, only 41 percent supporting marriage equity.

Last week, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady defended the court’s decision to overturn the Iowa Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by reminding lawmakers that “the duty of courts to review the constitutionality of laws is known as judicial review and is one of our most basic responsibilities.” “This is the very duty the court exercised in the Varnum decision,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested that President Obama’s “evolving” view on same-sex marriage will not evolve any further in his upcoming State of the Union address, telling reporters at an afternoon press briefing that “I’m not aware that there is any change coming on that in the State of the Union at this point.” At an end of the year press conference in December, Obama said that he struggles with the issue of marriage and hinted that he may soon move beyond simply supporting civil unions.

Gibbs also defended the Justice Department’s recent brief supporting the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Gibbs argued that even though the administration would like to see the law repealed, the Justice Department has a responsibility to “represent the viewpoint of the defendant.” He described the chances of repeal passing in the current Congress as “inordinately challenging”:

CHIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade : Do you still see repeal happening in the course of the Obama administration?

GIBBS: Given the current make-up of the Congress, that is inordinately challenging and I think he said so in interviews.

JOHNSON: Are there any regrets about not pushing for repeal more forcefully when Democrats had control of both chambers of Congress?

GIBBS: I think we are enormously proud of and grateful for the progress that we have been able to make. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was an achievement of — I think it will be thought of not just of this administration, but for all those involved, a monumental achievement in bringing equality and justice back….Obviously, we didn’t get everything we wanted to get done done, but we’re proud of what we did get done.

Watch it:

Some scholars and LGBT leaders have argued that the administration is under no obligation to defend DOMA if it believes the law to be unconstitutional and have called on Obama to drop his defense of the law. “The administration claims that it has a duty to defend the laws that are on the books. We simply do not agree. At the very least, the Justice Department can and should acknowledge that the law is unconstitutional,” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said when the brief was filed last week.

In 2009, Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced The Respect for Marriage Act of 2009, which would repeal the DOMA and allow the government to provide benefits to married gay couples.

Legislation expanding marriage to gays and lesbians will soon be introduced in Maryland and New York, while couples will continue to be able to marry in Washington D.C, where opponents failed to convince the Supreme Court to hear a case that would have submitted the district’s marriage law to a popular vote. Meanwhile, an anti-marriage initiative is advancing in Wyoming and conservatives are continuing to rally against marriage equality in Iowa. Here is the latest instillation of State Marriage Watch:

– MARYLAND: Maryland State Senator Rich Madaleno told On Top Magazine that “a gay marriage bill will be introduced in the Maryland Senate this week.” The website notes that previous attempts to legalize gay unions have “suffered setbacks in the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee, but new assignments have boosted the number of supporters on the 11-member panel to six, paving the way for such a bill to reach the Democrat-controlled Senate floor.”

– NEW YORK: The New York Daily News is reporting that New York State Senator Thomas Duane will introduce a same-sex marriage bill “within weeks” and will push for a vote before June. Although a similar bill was soundly defeated in the Senate in 2009, “Duane and other supporters believe Gov. Cuomo’s support can finally tilt the political landscape.” Cuomo also recently named Erik Bottcher, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s liaison to the gay community, “to the newly created cabinet post of special assistant for community affairs.”

– WYOMING: A bill prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed outside of the state is advancing. On Monday, the House Education Committee passed the bill in a vote of 7-2. The legislation “now must pass three votes by the full House before it would head to the Senate.” “Though similar bills failed in 2007 and 2009, many legislators and gay-marriage opponents think they have the votes this year to pass HB74 as well as a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage,” the Billings Gazette reports.

– WASHINGTON DC: Today, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from same-sex marriage opponents hoping to put the marriage law up for a vote. The District’s board of elections had argued that the ballot would “violate the city’s Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

– IOWA: The Iowa Conservative Alliance and the Iowa Tea Party held a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa Saturday afternoon and heard speeches from “Rep. Kim Pearson, R-Pleasant Hill, and former Republican state representative and current Family Leader lobbyist Danny Carroll.” “Two women and one man. If you’re bisexual should you have the right to marry? What about two men getting married because it’s convenient for their business,” Carroll said. “Where does it go?” The speakers called on “Senate Majority Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, to allow Senate floor debate on a gay marriage ban resolution,” which is expected to pass the Republican-controlled state house. Pearson, along with two other Republicans in the House, is also drafting a measure to impeach the remaining state Supreme Court justices who joined a 2009 ruling which brought marriage to the state.

For a complete overview of the latest developments in the marriage battleground states of Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, California, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, and New Mexico, click here.