DES MOINES — There were no protestors at Western Gateway Park on Friday evening.

There were, however, hundreds of supporters rallying around the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

And one mayor who knows the dissenters would still make their voices heard.

“We’ll probably still have debate about the rightness or the wrongness of this decision, but I think it’s a right one,” Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said in an interview as the crowd listened and applauded to speakers onstage. “But it deserves more debate; it deserves more education, because people — only when they get to know other people — do they get to respect and understand their point of view.”

The next step, he said, is to continue to have discussions — not only in Iowa, but around the nation.

“And it’ll take place in large gatherings, in coffee shops — one-on-one — and it’ll take place on the floor of legislatures and, obviously, in the court room,” Cownie said. “At the end of the day, it’s a new day, and equality is what this is about.”

LGBT advocacy group One Iowa’s campaign director, Brad Clark, has had the discussions. In his senior year at Central College, in Pella, Clark was fired from a leadership position from the college’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship program when he publicly announced he was gay.

Clark said he thinks Central is “a much better place” now, but saw Friday as a victory for himself personally, as well as gays and lesbians around the state.

“Growing up in small-town Iowa, I didn’t think this would ever happen, so it’s obviously a very moving day for me personally and, obviously, the couples around the state,” Clark said. “I think many gay and lesbian kids go through very similar challenges and are faced with a lot of harassment and discrimination.”

He said children around the country still hear “words like faggot and dyke” every day at school. That makes it even more important that people continue to talk about the issue.

“I think the main work is gays and lesbians and our allies and friends and families need to come out and tell their stories and talk to their friends and their neighbors and their colleagues and legislatures,” Clark said. “When it comes down to it, it’s the stories that are really going to affect people and change the landscape.”

Whatever the next step, Friday was a major victory for LGBT persons in Iowa, making it one of only three states to declare bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Cownie said it seemed to him people were amazed at how much Iowa has been able to take the lead in social issues.

He pointed out that while most people see Iowans as “conservative folks,” the state did lead the way in electing the nation’s first black president and has helped take the lead in the gay rights movement.

“There’s a lot of states that have gone down that path — some that are often viewed as more liberal than Iowa, but at the end of the day I think they will take notice of Iowa — conservative place, middle America, real balanced values about right and wrong,” he said. “And when Iowa takes a step like this, I think the rest of the country will stand up and take a look at it.”

Carolyn Jenison, executive director of One Iowa, told the crowd the same.

“Iowa will set the standard for equity in the Midwest,” she said to applause.

But will the rest of the nation follow in this ruling?

“I certainly hope so,” Clark said.

On Friday, however, celebration was the overriding feeling in Des Moines. People clapped for speakers, hugged and proclaimed intentions to get married. For one night, the LGBT community could afford to take a step back from its ongoing cause and celebrate.

“I think, let’s enjoy the day, and wait for the debate to come,” Cownie said with a smile.