Gay marriage in Iowa

A couple of weeks ago the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a state law which banned marriage between two men or two women. I planned to write something about this earlier, closer to the April 3 date the ruling was made but soccer games started and there were other things to do. In the meantime I read the Supreme Court decision, something I would recommend that everyone do, regardless of their position on the issue. You can find it at:
http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Supreme_Court/Recent_Opinions/20090403/07-1499.pdf

The reactions have been interesting. Some folks I know are appalled, embarrassed to be from Iowa, and certain that marriages in Iowa will be damaged by the change in the law. Friends from our days in Germantown think it is wonderful. In their view, Iowa went from being a backwards place they flew over on their way to California, to a progressive place at the forefront of social change.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. The first day county recorders can issue marriage licenses to gay couples is April 24, meaning the first weddings would be April 27. Those opposed to the ruling have shifted from trying to get the state legislature to vote on the issue while they are still in session to trying to encourage county recorders to break the law and not issue licenses. In the first week after the ruling, we got several auto calls encouraging us to contact our state legislator to encourage him to allow a vote on the issue. Those calls ended when my wife answered the phone, a live person, instead of a tape, started in with the message, my wife interrupted and told them to quit calling. It had been a stressful week at our house.

I found the reaction of my students to be interesting as well. I figured most of them would think it was wrong, which a number of them did. But the prevailing opinion could be summed up with the phrase, "who cares," or maybe, "what's the big deal?" I don't think this attitude was just a manifestation of the general apathy high school students can sometimes exhibit. Instead most don't seem to find homosexuality to be that big of deal.

One of the other things I have found interesting are those people who are arguing that the Iowa Supreme Court has somehow overstepped its duties and roles. The court was asked to determine if the Iowa statute passed a couple of years ago banning gay marriage violated the clause in the Iowa Constitution which says that all people are equal and deserve the equal protection" of the law. Letters to the Editor are filled with complaints that the court overturned a law passed by the legislature, because "no one voted on it." If the folks complaining had been paying attention in government class, they would know that is exactly what the Supreme Court is there for, to overturn laws passed by the legislature which are deemed to violate the Constitution. There seems to be this sense that if something is popular enough, it doesn't matter if it is unconstitutional. Fortunately for those in minority groups or minority positions, constitutionality is not determined by popularity, it is determined by a careful analysis of the law in question and its relationship to the Constitution.