Sotomayor avoids saying whether marriage should be issue for federal courts
Sen. Charles Grassley had a testy exchange Wednesday with Judge Sonia Sotomayor about the federal government’s authority over marriage law.
During the Iowa Republican’s second turn at questioning the Supreme Court nominee, Grassley referred to a 1972 Supreme Court decision, Baker v. Nelson, in which the justices declined to consider a gay-marriage case. He asked whether she thought federal courts lacked authority to hear civil-rights cases involving marriage.
Sotomayor said the issue is pending in several courts, before Grassley cut her off.
“I thought I was asking a very simple question,” he said.
He ticked off a list of cases Sotomayor had referenced as precedent during her testimony on Tuesday. “You said these are precedents,” Grassley continued, raising his voice. “Now, are you saying to me that Baker v. Nelson is not a precedent?”
“It’s not that I’m attempting not to answer your question, Senator Grassley,” she said.
Grassley interrupted again, “Why are you hedging on this?”
Finally, Sotomayor said it had been since law school that she had reviewed the case, prompting Grassley to move on to another topic.
See Sotomayor avoids saying whether marriage should be issue for federal courts
The Des Moines Register
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Gay Pride event in Des Moines draws biggest turnout
Sunday’s PrideFest festival in Des Moines had its biggest turnout in its 30 years following the April ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court that allowed same-sex marriage.For Jack Barnhart and Bob Schanke, who were married June 6 after waiting 25 years, the day was the perfect opportunity to celebrate their marriage.The Pleasant Hill couple, decked out in rainbow flags, carried yellow-and-red signs reading “Just Married.” They strolled down the PrideFest parade to the sound of cheers, congratulations and the clicks of cameras. See Gay Pride event in Des Moines draws biggest turnout DesMoinesRegister.com
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Gay marriage law’s impact on Iowans subtle, yet powerful DesMoinesRegister.com -Gay marriage law’s impact on Iowans subtle, yet powerful
The April marriage ruling hasn’t enticed Jean and George Huffey’s two gay children to move back to Iowa from Wisconsin and Indiana, as the two parents had hoped.
Not many same-sex couples have relocated here in the two short months since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on April 3 that both gay and straight couples have equal rights to marriage, anecdotal evidence suggests.
“It’s going to take time,” said Des Moines real estate agent Mindi McCoy, who had two same-sex clients from New York City look at properties, then decide against purchasing. “We’re still in kind of this honeymoon stage, no pun intended.”
Gay culture is sharply in focus this weekend as thousands gather to celebrate at the Capital City PrideFest in Des Moines. The Des Moines Register interviewed dozens of gays and lesbians to identify early trends since the first marriages took place April 27, including the effects on the ease of coming out of the closet, family relationships, religion, business, politics and the underground gay sex scene.
The changes in Iowa since the ruling are subtle but powerful to the individuals affected, according to both advocates and opponents.
Same-sex married couples who live here said they are already experiencing firsthand how Iowa law still treats them differently from opposite-sex couples.
Of the hundreds of same-sex Iowa couples who are now married - no state agency tracks the number of same-sex unions - some said they feel less guarded about holding hands or sharing a kiss in certain public settings.
“At your job, you don’t feel like you can’t have a picture of you and your partner up,” said Des Moines resident Justin De Vries.
Marriage seems to have been embraced mainly by same-sex couples with a history together: five years, a decade, 20 years or more. Some faith leaders have committed acts of quiet rebellion to marry them, even as their churches remain locked in debate over same-sex weddings.
“People are taking this as a very serious issue,” said Sharon Malheiro, a Des Moines lawyer. Couples are asking: ” ‘If we get married, what will the impact be? What are our obligations to each other?’ They’re not being nonchalant about it.”
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Military officials: Gay ban supercedes rights of Iowans to serve in Guard, marry
Military officials say the Iowa National Guard cannot recognize the same-sex marriages of its members, and must continue to adhere to the federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibiting openly gay servicemembers. “Iowans serving honorably in the military should not have to choose between the protections of marriage and their dedication to serving our country,” said Carolyn Jenison, executive director of LGBT-rights group One Iowa. The Des Moines Register (Iowa) * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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More than 450 gay couples seek licenses
More same-sex couples sought marriage licenses in Polk County than any other large Iowa population center in the first week after a court ruling went into effect that legalized gay marriage in the state, county numbers show.
Polk County Recorder Julie Haggerty said 116 gay and lesbian couples had applied for licenses by Friday afternoon. More than two-thirds arrived on Monday, when the Supreme Court’s April 3 decision took effect, and dwindled as the week progressed. The proportion of same-sex couples compared with heterosexual couples also dropped later in the week in Polk County. By Friday, Haggerty said, only eight of the 25 couples who applied for licenses were of the same sex.
The Des Moines Register’s survey of county recorders offices indicates more than 450 same-sex couples sought marriage licenses last week. No state agency keeps track of marriage applications on a real-time basis. The Register contacted all 99 county recorders offices on the first day that same-sex couples could seek licenses and received updated tallies from selected offices on Friday.See More than 450 gay couples seek licenses
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Iowa gay foes pledge to reverse gay marriage
(Des Moines, Iowa) Iowa opponents of same-sex marriage say they will fight to reverse the court ruling allowing gays to wed, no matter how long it takes.
Same-sex couples began marrying Monday following the state Supreme Court ruling this month striking down a law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.
Republicans and social …
Tags: Des Moines, Foes, gay marriage, Gays, Iowa Iowa, marriage, Marriage Sex, Moines Iowa, Opponents, Opposite Sex, Pledge, Republicans, Same Sex Couples, same sex marriage, State Supreme CourtIowa couples start getting married
(Des Moines, Iowa) The first same-sex couples tied the knot in Iowa on Monday as the issue of gay marriage moved to the nation’s heartland.
Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe were declared “legally married” by pastor Peg Esperanaza during a ceremony in front of the Polk County administrative offices in Des …
Tags: Administrative Offices, Des Moines, gay marriage, Heartland, Knot, marriage, Moines Iowa, Peg, Polk County, Same Sex Couples, Shelley360+ same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses; most in Polk Co.
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Gay marriage comes to Iowa today
(Des Moines, Iowa) The only gay couple who were legally wed in Iowa are looking forward to getting some company.
Iowa county clerks were to begin processing same-sex marriage applications Monday, following the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling on April 3 that legalized same sex-marriage. Iowa typically requires a three-day waiting period …
Tags: County Clerks, Des Moines, Gay Couple, gay marriage, Iowa County, Iowa Court, Iowa Supreme Court, marriage, Marriage Applications, Moines Iowa, same sex marriage, Waiting PeriodFive stories from five years of same-sex marriage
Cambridge, Mass. - Susan Shepherd looks up at the rough-hewn pink granite of City Hall, just across the Charles River from downtown Boston. An American flag ripples in the wind. Inside the building, a plaque commemorates Cambridge as America’s birthplace of legal same-sex marriage.
“I can’t believe it’s been five years,” Shepherd says, hugging her wife. “I feel like I just met her yesterday.”
Nor can gay marriage opponents believe what’s happened in Massachusetts since, in their view, traditional marriage came to an end.
Yet in the past five years as same-sex marriage became part of Massachusetts’ landscape, many Bay Staters say something unexpected has happened: Life is as it always was.
Just after midnight on May 17, 2004, Shepherd and Marcia Hams, a Cambridge couple who’d been together three decades and raised a son, became Massachusetts’ first same-sex couple to get a marriage license. They had waited 24 hours in rain and cold, and by the time they got the license, 10,000 supporters gathered on the front lawn of City Hall.
Five years later and 1,300 miles away, Iowa on Monday will allow same-sex marriages. As Iowa enters into uncharted territory for the Midwest, the Bay State may serve as a sign of what may come.
Since same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, about 12,000 same-sex couples have applied for marriage licenses. Gay marriages now comprise about 4 percent of all marriages performed in the state, meaning there are about 1,500 a year.
There have been some same-sex divorces, too, most notably by the couple whose name was on the court case that legalized same-sex marriage.
To be sure, a sizable chunk of Massachusetts’ 6.3 million residents remain opposed to same-sex marriage, mostly on religious grounds. Some say legal same-sex marriage has led to censorship of those who remain opposed, to infringement on the rights of parents who object to same-sex marriage being taught in schools, and to Catholic Charities of Boston ending adoption work because it refused to allow same-sex couples to adopt.
But polling results show a shift toward acceptance of gay marriage. A 2004 survey by the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston found the state split: 42 percent supported gay marriage, 44 percent opposed it. A similar survey in 2008 found 59 percent in support of gay marriage, 37 percent opposed.
As Iowa enters a new era, a drive through Massachusetts and into Maine shows how same-sex marriage has changed life - for better, for worse or, as many say, hardly at all.
See Five stories from five years of same-sex marriage
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