Iowa Gay Marriage Reaffirmed as Fundamental to Equality

by Michael Jones · 2009-08-21 06:45:00 UTC
Topics:

Iowa Gay Marriage

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has voted unanimously to affirm the State Supreme Court's decision earlier this year to extend marriage rights to lesbian and gay couples.  The bipartisan commission is a body of state government, with a mission of investigating cases of reported discrimination.  Its seven members have looked at the gay marriage ruling in Iowa, and they've concluded firmly and unequivocally that same-sex marriage in Iowa is fundamental to equality.

One of the Republican commissioners, Rick Morain, told the Des Moines Register that the the Civil Rights Commission also opposes any effort to place a marriage referendum on the state ballot.  Any such effort would run contrary to Iowa's Constitution, Morain said, and be an affront to equal rights.

"My personal feeling is that if that kind of amendment were adopted, it would clash with Article 1 of the constitution, which is the Iowa Bill of Rights," Morain told the paper.  "To me, it would not be consistent with Iowa's long-standing tradition of equality and the right to happiness to pass that amendment."

Most of the Republican candidates for Governor in Iowa are blasting the state's decision to enact marriage equality. Whether at GOP picnics or political fundraisers, a number of these folks are promising to issue unconstitutional executive orders stopping same-sex marriage, or are threatening a jihad against Iowa's judicial branch.

While these folks are heading off the deep-end, it's nice to see bipartisan support - both Republicans and Democrats - reaffirm that same-sex marriage is a question of equal rights, not a question of religious values.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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