New York refuses to give homosexuals equal marriage rights and, with that work out of the way, has moved on* to trying to ban salt from restaurants so that, I don’t know, no one ever has to die, ever…or enjoy life, in general, or something.

Meanwhile, Iowa lets gays marry and its state senate just approved a measure that protects the traditional-but-possibly-dangerous-bacteria-friendly method of cooking Iowa’s signature sandwich, the Maid-Rite…because that’s how a proper “loose meat” sandwich is done in there parts.

A majority of senators sided with the Maid-Rite in Marshalltown to override concerns from state food-safety inspectors who question the restaurant’s cooking methods. Some senators chafed at what they perceived as an attack on an Iowa icon and argued that the cooking method this Maid-Rite outlet has used for 82 years should be preserved. “Maid-Rites are very important to me,” Sen. Dennis Black, D-Grinnell, said Wednesday. “I’m unaware of a single person that’s ever gotten sick from a Maid-Rite.” The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals has told Taylor’s Maid-Rite restaurant that it must alter its process for cooking loose-meat sandwiches. The process at Taylor’s involves cooked hamburger being placed in the same heated receptacle that’s used to cook raw meat.

Iowa 2, New York 0.

*OK, it’s just one Brooklyn legislator for now. But that a state lawmaker would even waste his time pitching such a health-nanny proposal, even as a PR stunt, speaks a little to the Empire State’s views on the reach of law and personal health. Gov. Paterson** proposed a soda tax before abandoning it in the face of unpopular opinion. Bloomberg is now petitioning the state to allow him to tax soda in NYC, which, according to a New York Times back-of-the-napkin analysis, would make soda more expensive than some beers.

** Also, recent Iowa governors have so far avoided consorting with top-dollar prostitutes. And not having aides who allegedly beat up their girlfriends and have the state police cover it up.