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Next State to Usher in Gay Marriage May be Iowaby Kilian MelloyMonday Nov 24, 2008 Only weeks after a ballot initiative put marriage rights for gay and lesbian families in California to a vote--with families in that state losing the right to marry being the outcome--families in the state of Iowa may see the way cleared for marriage parity.
A Nov. 21 story in the Iowa newspaper the Press-Citizen detailed how a ruling from that state’s Supreme Court is poised to determine whether or not marriage equality will be permitted there.
For anti-gay groups who have begun to characterize marriage parity as "anti-family," a pro-marriage equality ruling may signal the start of a bruising campaign to amend the state’s bedrock law by pushing for a constitutional amendment similar to the one approved by California voters earlier this month.
For Iowa’s gay and lesbian families, however, such a ruling would constitute the start of a new day.
Said the director of communications for GLBT equality group One Iowa, Justin Uebelhor, "It could be a big step forward for Iowa and something Iowa could be proud of."
Added Uebelhor, "It is important for Iowa to take the lead on this."
The suit scheduled to be heard by the Iowa Supreme Court has been brought by six couples seeking legal recognition of their families, the article noted.
For opponents of marriage parity, however, there’s no such thing as a family headed by two people of the same gender.
The anti-gay group Iowa Family Policy Center’s Chuck Hurley referred to the rights being sought by the six couples as "anti-family."
A Nov. 19 article in the Des Moines Register quoted Hurley as saying, "The people of Iowa have not consented to a radical change in the definition of marriage being imposed on them by the courts and anti-family groups."
In 1998, the Register article recalled, Iowa state legislators adopted a state law, called the Defense of Marriage Act, that restricts marriage rights to couples consisting of one man and one woman.
Since that time, Vermont has provided for civil unions for same-gender couples in 2000, Massachusetts has granted full marriage equality in 2004, gay and lesbian families in California have won and then lost the right to marry, all during the course of 2008, and marriage parity has become part of state law in Connecticut as of last month.
The Press-Citizen article referred to the recent loss of marriage rights in California, citing Uebelhor as saying that although voters approved the rollback of rights for families in that state by a slim margin, it has had the result of energizing the conversation on marriage parity nationally.
A media relations director for GLBT equality group Lambda Legal, Lisa Hardaway, was quoted in the Press-Citizen article as saying, "I think time is on our side. I think progress is in our direction.
"The broader view is we have to take it in steps."
Lawyer Dennis Johnson, who represents the couples along with Lambda Legal, said of the lower court decision that sent the case to the Supreme Court, "[T]his is not a close constitutional question."
Based on the current version of the Iowa state constitution, Johnson assessed the case as having a good chance for success.
In Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut, the courts found that denying gay and lesbian families the right to marry was a violation of guarantees of equal protections set out in the state constitutions.
In thirty states, ballot initiatives to incorporate anti-gay language targeting the family rights of same-gender couples into state constitutions have been approved by voters.
Only one state, Arizona, saw voters reject such a ballot initiative, in 2006, because of fears that the broadly-worded amendment would impact the finances of mixed-gender couples cohabiting without being married.
A revised version of the amendment more specifically targeting gays and lesbians only was approved earlier this month by Arizona voters.
Voters in Florida also approved an anti-gay amendment to lock gays and lesbians out of marriage rights, and adoption rights were constitutionally denied to Arkansas couples of the same gender, as well as unmarried mixed-gender couples.
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear the case starting Dec. 9, the Register article said.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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