SUMMARY: A minister marries two men outside his Des Moines home Friday morning; then the judge who threw out Iowa’s gay marriage ban stays his ruling.

An Iowa county judge’s ruling knocking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban stirred up the presidential race Friday as Republicans jostled to stake out a position with the state’s conservative voters in mind.

NEW YORK (AP) — Denise Jackson knew that her marriage to Alan Jackson wasn’t perfect. She was too needy and insecure in the relationship, and he was on the road a lot, becoming one of country’s biggest superstars.

Gay couples lined up before dawn on Friday to apply for marriage licenses until an Iowa judge, who set off the rush to the altar by scuttling the state’s law against same-sex marriage, put a halt to their bliss.

Judge Stays Ruling That Tossed Iowa’s Gay Marriage Ban, but 1 Couple Legally Marries First

A judge’s ruling overturning Iowa’s ban on same-sex marriage means the issue moves to the forefront of the debate in both parties ahead of the state’s crucial caucuses, says the Nation .

Two men sealed the state’s first legal same-sex marriage with a kiss Friday morning, less than 24 hours after a judge threw out Iowa’s ban on gay marriage and about two hours before he put that ruling on hold.

A dozen gay couples applied for marriage licenses Friday morning as the county recorder’s office opened, and at least one couple hoped to marry within hours.

An Iowa court has overturned a state law forbidding gay marriage on the basis that it was discriminatory.

Less than two hours after a judge struck down Iowa’s decade-old gay marriage ban, two Des Moines men applied for a marriage license as bride and groom, and county officials said they expected to see more same-sex couples doing the same on Friday.