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.There's more at the link.
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."
See also, The Anonymous Liberal, "Being a Public Christian'," Rod Dreher, "Gay marriage forced on Iowa," and the additional commentary at Memeorandum.
3 comments:
Keep up the good work, Donald! :-)
The Swedish Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to recognize same-sex marriage.
It is crazy!
In the midst of this month I will return to Sweden.
I will be a candidate in the local elections, September next year, for the Swedish conservative party, Moderaterna.
That party unfortunately did not object against gay marriage.
The only group objecting was a small parliamentary group of Pentecostal Christian Democrats.
They were the only voting against this law, but on the other hand they don't want anybody drinking beer, dancing, or watching television either.
I feel my biggest effort not will be to convince people that socialism is wrong, but to convince people that they can drink a beer and still believe in Christ, that they can watch television without going to hell, but that gay marriage not is exactly what God intended as a family base for the society.
Why are we always complicating things in Europe.
In America you always seem to make great decisions, while we in Europe are experts in creating problems where there are no problems...
I went eating at McDonald's, Donald! :-)
A beautiful woman asked me a few questions to respond to, including how much I was willing to spend for the food.
She thanked me for answering the questions by giving me a chocolate mousse desert, which was very sweet of her. ;-)
I look forward to your PJM article on the Iowa decision. Judges imposed obtuse busing on children to reform schools, they created abortion on demand, they favored pornographers over laws to protect children from porn exposure via internet, and now they deem traditional marriage an unconstitutional imposition on the small Act-Up minority. Does anyone see families and children destabilized in this, along with an imploding social order as more and more of these unaborted boys and girls come of age?
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