Iowa could be next in same-sex marriage battle
Posted on October 19, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog
“This is a great day for Connecticut. We are excited for the committed couples who now have the freedom to marry. We share in their happiness and look forward to the day when committed gay and lesbian couples can marry in Iowa,” said Carolyn Jenison, executive director of One Iowa, a Des Moines-based LGBT advocacy organization.
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in the legal challenge to the state’s same-sex marriage law on Dec. 9. Last year an Iowa district court held that Iowa’s ban on marriage for gay couples was unconstitutional. If the ruling is upheld it will provide gays and lesbians couples and their families the same recognition, benefits and responsibilities as heterosexual couples.
Opponents of same-sex marriage have pushed for the legislature to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman in order to preempt a ruling by the court. However, an amendment to the state’s constitution must be passed in two separate legislative sessions before it can be placed on the ballot. A ruling from the Court is expected long before an amendment could be passed.
One group that has been outspoken in its opposition to same-sex marriage is the Iowa Christian Alliance. This year, voters will decide whether to retain three of the seven justices of the Iowa Supreme Court, and in an e-mail to supporters, ICA Lobbyist Norm Pawlewski says Iowans should vote “no.”
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