Great news out of Iowa today! The Iowa Supreme Court has struck down that state's gay marriage ban as an unconstitutional violation of the equal protection clause in the state constitution. Effectively, this means that gay Iowans can't be denied a marriage license. Kudos to the state of Iowa.
It's about time that gay people be given full rights to marriage. It's hard to fathom why same sex adults who want to marry shouldn't be allowed to. Being someone who gets great joy out of marriage, I'm encouraged to see the same rights being offered to everyone.
Of course the right has already started it's fear drumbeat. Republican Iowa Representative Steve King wasted no time warning that the ruling will turn Iowa in to a "gay marriage mecca." Naturally he also said the Iowa legislature has a "responsibility" to amend the state constitution to take marriage rights away from gay people.
Iowa should hope it will become a "gay marriage mecca." In this economy I expect that hospitality businesses in Des Moines and Iowa City might welcome an influx of people looking to spend their hard earned cash. Why is King afraid of this? Does he have some kind of fear of catching the gay? Does he not like being around people who love each other and want to make a commitment?
We will see if another Prop 8 style campaign springs up in Iowa, but for now I just want to say congratulations to all those people who just gained the same rights that I have always had. You deserve it.
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I was also excited to hear about this decision. Depending on the requirements for obtaining a marriage license in Iowa, if I was gay, living in Wisconsin and in a committed relationship, then I would go to Iowa as soon as possible to get married. Too bad Wisconsin amended its constitution making it legal to discriminate against gay couples who want to get married.
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