CEDAR FALLS - Paul Danielsen has been in a committed relationship for nearly 18 years.

The couple shares the responsibilities of running their home and working through the trials that face any relationship. But under Iowa law, that is all Danielsen and his partner John Wilson can share.

For a brief moment last week Danielsen and Wilson were given a small flicker of hope that someday their relationship will be recognized by the state. Polk County Judge Robert Hanson overturned the state's same-sex marriage ban, but only a few hours later the same judge put his decision on hold so the case could be appealed.

"People need to remember when they are passing laws it should not be based on their religious beliefs, but the Constitution," Danielsen said. "They must realize that not all people they are making laws for are religious."

And not all religions condemn the idea of same-sex marriages. Tuesday, representatives or members from three local churches and one Iowa City church gathered outside the Cedar Falls City Hall to voice their support for the repeal of the same-sex marriage ban. The gatherings were organized by One Iowa, a statewide organization that works for GLBT Equality in Iowa through grassroots efforts and educational events.

The Rev. Eva Cameron, a minister for the Unitarian Universalist Society of Black Hawk County, said there are more than 1,400 civil rights that are afforded to couples who are married that same-sex couples are not guaranteed in states that don't recognize their marriages. Many committed same-sex couples worry about how their pension plans will transfer to their partner should they die or if they will have to fight for the right to visit their partner should one become hospitalized.

Though the Unitarian church has spoke out in favor of the same-sex marriages since 1970 representatives from an Episcopalian and Methodist church were also offering their support Tuesday.

The Rev. Dick Clark said his church, St. Timothys United Methodist is not clear in their position on same-sex marriages, but that he himself supports the unions.

"The biggest barriers many face is what they believe the Bible says," Clark said. "They think the Bible says to condemn gays and lesbians, but that is not the case…Sexual orientation was not even a biblical concept."

Another pastor, the Rev. Benjamin Webb of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, has been married, to a woman, for 28 years. He said anyone willing to enter into that kind of covenant, who truly wants to make the relationship work, should be allowed that opportunity, though his religion has not yet taken such a clear-cut approach to the issue.

"Anyone who has been married for a little while knows it is hard work," Webb said. "It's not about one's sex, but about the lifelong devotion two human beings are capable of and the hard work they are willing to put into their relationship. Why should we stand in the way of any brave souls who want to take it on."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.