DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A group that wants to ban same-sex marriage is accusing some Democrats of holding up legislation saying the lawmakers are beholden to donors who want the marriages to be legal.

Members of the Iowa Family Policy Center said on Thursday that top Iowa Democrats had received more than $170,000 from “out-of-state homosexual activists.”

That money has bought influence and resulted in the Legislature refusing to hold debate on amendment to the state’s constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, said the group’s president, former Iowa lawmaker Chuck Hurley.

Hurley said the information was “particularly troubling considering the national implications” of Iowa allowing same-sex marriages. He said if such marriages were legalized in Iowa, gay people from across the country could travel to the state to wed.

Top Democrats reacted indignantly to the group’s accusations and said the same-sex marriage issue is before the Iowa Supreme Court and should remain there until a decision is handed down.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, called Hurley’s comments hateful and said his group was pursuing red herrings and trying to grab cheap publicity while the legal process works itself out.

“This gets a little ridiculous,” Murphy said, his voice rising. “There’s a lot of grenade throwing around here and I’m not going to tolerate it. We are not going to take up this bill. If he wants to keep calling, he can keep calling. The phone lines are still working.”

Sen. Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, offered a sharply worded statement in retort.

“With this latest publicity stunt, Mr. Hurley has violated a couple of the Ten Commandments and committed at least one of the Seven Deadly Sins,” Gronstal said. “But why should that surprise Iowans? Mr. Hurley’s real motivation has always been hate-mongering and raising money from hard-working Iowans to cover his salary.”

The Iowa Family Policy Center cited donations to five lawmakers and one former candidate – all Democrats – who received a combined $91,616 from gay and lesbian donors. Its tabulation also included $100,800 that the group said was given directly to the Iowa Democratic Party.

The lawmakers included by the Iowa Family Policy Center were Rep. Andrew Wenthe, D-Hawkeye; Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines; Rep. Eric Palmer, D-Oskaloosa; Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids; Rep. Doris Kelley, D-Waterloo; and former Democratic Senate candidate Merle Johnson, of Ankeny.

At issue is the state’s marriage law, which came into question in August after Polk County Judge Robert Hanson issued a decision that declared Iowa’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.

An appeal was quickly filed and Hanson issued a stay the next day – though not before two men from Ames were married. The ruling had applied only to Polk County, but Iowa law allows citizens to apply for a marriage license in any of its 99 counties.

The case has been appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.