Iowa Ruling Could Bolster California Gay Rights Activists

I'm going to be in and out today running my boys to art classes and math tutoring. I didn't blog so much yesterday because I was working on an essay on the Iowa gay marriage ruling for Pajamas Media. I submitted that late last night, but there's lot more on the topic this morning, by the looks of Memeorandum. Plus, the Los Angeles Times has a front-page article on the ruling, "Iowa court legalizes gay marriage as California watches," so I'll share that with readers for now:

The Iowa Supreme Court, citing California's historic marriage decision, overturned a ban Friday on same-sex marriage in a ruling that emphasized the need for courts to protect minorities even when public sentiment is against them.

The unanimous decision makes Iowa the first Midwestern state to legalize gay marriage, which is also permitted in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The decision came as the California Supreme Court considers whether to overturn Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that banned gay marriages after the court's groundbreaking ruling May 15 that allowed them.

Gay rights activists and a legal scholar said Friday's ruling could provide ammunition for overturning Proposition 8, either in court or at the ballot box. During a hearing last month, a majority of the California court appeared ready to uphold the ballot measure.

In the Iowa decision, Justice Mark Cady wrote: "We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."

Gay rights advocates were jubilant.

"It's a red-letter day for us here in Iowa," said Matt McCoy, a gay member of the state Senate who cheered the decision from the courthouse steps in Des Moines.

Foes vowed to fight it. Bryan English, spokesman for the Iowa Family Policy Center, said the decision was like "a death in the family."

There's more at the link.

See also, The Anonymous Liberal, "Being a Public Christian'," Rod Dreher, "Gay marriage forced on Iowa," and the additional commentary at Memeorandum.