Iowa gay uple's lawsu stood for more than the right to marry

Contents:

• ON THIS DAY 10 YEARS AGO, AN IOWA SUPREME COURT LG LEGALIZED GAY MARRIAGE THE STATE
• IOWA SUPREME COURT LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE
• IOWA GAY MARRIAG BEG AS LG TAK EFFECT
• COUPL IOWA'S GAY MARRIAGE SE REFLECT
• IOWA SUPREME COURT LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE IOWA
• GAY MARRIAGE
• IOWA GAY MARRIAG ON HOLD
• IOWA GAY MARRIAGE LG A TURNG POT FOR JTIC
• IOWA ISSU MARRIAGE LICENS TO GAYS
• FROM THE ARCHIV: IOWA GAY UPLE'S LAWSU STANDS FOR MORE THAN THE RIGHT TO MARRY
• SON OF IOWA LBIANS FIGHTS GAY MARRIAGE BAN
• IOWA COURT VOIDS GAY MARRIAGE BAN
• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT A SEEMGLY FAKE DOCUMENT A GAY RIGHTS CASE
• I WAS PART OF 303 CREATIVE'S CASE. I BACK GAY MARRIAGE—BUT SCOTUS IS RIGHT

ON THIS DAY 10 YEARS AGO, AN IOWA SUPREME COURT LG LEGALIZED GAY MARRIAGE THE STATE

Nearly eight years after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage and several months after Congrs dified gay nuptials, Iowa legislators proposed banng such unns their state nstutn. Brien ma Iowa the third state the natn to tablish marriage lg tapulted the state to a growg nversatn around marriage equaly and rights for LGBTQ people that would not see a feral rolutn until the Supreme Court stck down gay marriage bans across the natn 2015. Iowans' llective views on legalizg gay marriage have steadily changed over the years, wh 46% of Iowa Poll rponnts ambivalent on the issue 1996 to 62% rpondg that marriage should only be between same-sex upl Febary 2014, 34% of rponnts to the Iowa Poll claimed to be disappoted that Iowa allowed same-sex marriage while 28% were proud of the cisn and 36% said didn't matter much to them.

The Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday a unanimo and emphatic cisn that mak Iowa the third state — and first the natn's heartland — to allow same-sex upl to wed.

IOWA SUPREME COURT LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE

"We are firmly nvced the excln of gay and lbian people om the stutn of civil marriage do not substantially further any important ernmental objective, " the Supreme Court wrote.

Separatn of powersThe se had been workg s way through the urts sce 2005, when Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights anizatn, filed a lawsu on behalf of six gay and lbian upl Iowa. John Logan, a soclogy profsor at Brown Universy, said Iowa's stat as a largely ral, Midwt state uld enforce an argument that gay marriage is no longer a ge issue.

"But as extends to stat like Iowa, and as attus toward gay marriage have evintly changed, then people will look at as an example of broad acceptance, " Logan said. Gay-marriage opponents have no other legal optns to appeal the se to the state or feral level bee they were not parti to the lawsu, and there is no feral issue raised the se, Sarne said.

IOWA GAY MARRIAG BEG AS LG TAK EFFECT

Senate Majory Lear Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, said state lawmakers were unlikely to nsir gay marriage legislatn this legislative ssn, which is expected to end wh weeks.

Months after Congrs affirmed gay marriage wh the historic Rpect for Marriage Act, a group of eight Iowa Republins are lookg to go the oppose directn, troducg a bill that would regnize marriage as "the solemnized unn between one human blogil male and one human blogil female. Joni Ernst fends gay-marriage vote as GOP unty groups move to censure herHoe File 508, which is also sponsored by eight Republins, would say that Iowa regniz marriage as "a sacred relig sacrament" and no Iowan shall be pelled to regnize any same-sex marriage as would state that Iowa nsirs portns of the feral Rpect for Marriage Act to be null and void for vlatg the First Amendment's relig protectns and the Tenth Amendment by encroachg on the state's powers. Same-sex upl Iowa began filg marriage license applitns Monday after a state Supreme Court lg legalizg gay unns took effect, and the first legal gay weddgs took place shortly Keeton and Shelley Wolfe were clared "legally married" by pastor Pat Esperanaza durg a ceremony ont of Polk County admistrative offic D Mo.

COUPL IOWA'S GAY MARRIAGE SE REFLECT

Wag for buildg to openIn D Mo, about a dozen gay and lbian upl waed the ra for the Polk County admistrative buildg to Lan, 35, and his partner Andrew Mahoney-Lan, 32, were first le. In eastern Iowa, Johnson County Rerr Kim Pater, Iowa's only openly gay rerr, said that when she saw the urt's claratn "we rolled open our wdows and we've been by. A nstutnal nventn uld be lled earlier, but that is 's same-sex marriage se began 2005 when Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights anizatn, sued on behalf of six gay and lbian Iowa has a history of beg at the foreont on social issu.

Six years ago, six same-sex upl won a urt se securg the right to legally marry Iowa, makg the state the third the untry to legalize gay today's historic U. Supreme Court lg, 36 other stat and the District of Columbia had regnized same-sex marriage as a morng, the high urt led that marriage is a fundamental Amerin right, and said gays and lbians are protected unr the 14th Amendment om state marriage bans. DES MOINES – Gay upl began makg weddg plans Friday after the Iowa Supreme Court hand them a landmark victory that mak Iowa the first Midwt state to legalize same-sex marriag.

Crics warned the cisn would make Iowa a gay-marriage mag sce the state do not have a rincy requirement for upl applyg for a license and wag three days before exchangg their vows. “We are firmly nvced the excln of gay and lbian people om the stutn of civil marriage do not substantially further any important ernmental objective, ” Jtice Mark Cady wrote the unanimo opn.

IOWA SUPREME COURT LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE IOWA

Contact the wrer: (515) 243-7220 or Iowa Supreme Court Rulg legalizg gay marriage Iowa Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law & Government Bs & Law ban samex Iowa Supreme Court Jtic.

It would also have to be passed another legislative ssn and then by Wednday, hundreds of stunts across Iowa left their classrooms to participate a 'We Say Gay' walkout to prott the recent slate of bills they say discrimate agast the rights of LGBTQ youth.

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn.

GAY MARRIAGE

” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups. Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years. In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners.

C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch. Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs.

IOWA GAY MARRIAG ON HOLD

That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S.

Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v. 2004 was notable for upl many other stat as well, though for the oppose reason: Ten typilly nservative stat, along wh Oregon, enacted state-level bans on gay marriage.

Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire.

IOWA GAY MARRIAGE LG A TURNG POT FOR JTIC

Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal. Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000.

Two men were married outsi a mister's home the state's first legal same-sex weddg Friday morng, ls than 24 hours after a judge threw out Iowa's ban on gay marriage and about two hours before the same judge put his lg on was a narrow wdow of 20 gay upl had applied for marriage licens by 11 a. "The men then kissed and than an hour later, the unty stopped acceptg morng, a stream of gay upl filed applitns at the rerr's Farlow and Larissa Boeck, stunts at Iowa State Universy, said they got to the unty rerr's office at 5 a. "I started to cry bee we so badly want to be able to be protected if somethg happens to one of , " Rethmeier Hanson's lg, he orred the Polk County rerr to issue marriage licens to six gay upl who filed the lawsu.

IOWA ISSU MARRIAGE LICENS TO GAYS

"Cala Taylor, an attorney wh Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights anizatn, said the lg requir "full equaly for all Iowans, cludg gay and lbian Iowans and their fai. Sarne said the se will be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which uld refer to the Iowa Court of Appeals, nsir the se self or ci not to hear the Mo lawyer Dennis Johnson reprented the six gay upl who filed the lawsu after they were nied marriage argued that Iowa has a long history of aggrsively protectg civil rights s of race and genr.

Johnson said the law vlat the state nstutn's equal protectn and due-procs Legal, which spearhead a same-sex marriage drive across the untry, filed the lawsu on behalf of the gay and lbian upl Polk County District Court on Dec. Kuhle, an assistant Polk County attorney, argued that the issue is not for a judge to Cunngham, a spokwoman for the nservative Iowa Fay Policy Center, which oppos gay marriage, said the cisn will be appealed. DES MOINES, Iowa -- The unanimo Iowa Supreme Court lg that legalized same-sex marriage five years ago Thursday had a profound effect on the ongog movement for equaly for gays and lbians and on three of the jtic who cid the se — and lost their jobs bee of Chief Jtice Marsha Tern and Jtic Michael Stre and David Baker faced a retentn electn November 2010, they met a backlash-fueled mpaign, fund part by out-of-state tert groups.

FROM THE ARCHIV: IOWA GAY UPLE'S LAWSU STANDS FOR MORE THAN THE RIGHT TO MARRY

'"Ball: Those who have fend same-sex marriage bans urts throughout the untry sce Varnum have had a very difficult time persuadg judg that the ernment has a legimate reason for nyg gay men and lbians the opportuny to marry the dividuals of their the lgMark Cady, wrer of the cisn, current chief jtice: In many ways, the public disurse followg any urt cisn on such a major nstutnal qutn of civil rights is what was expected, if not mand, by our nstutn. Same-sex upl Iowa began applyg for marriage licens on Monday after a state Supreme Court lg legalizg gay unns took urt issued an orr early the day nfirmg that the appeals procs the se has officially unty clerks were to beg procsg same-sex marriage applitns Monday, followg the Iowa Supreme Court's lg on April 3 that legalized same sex-marriage.

In D Mo, about a dozen gay and lbian upl waed the ra for the Polk County admistrative buildg to Lan, 35, and his partner Andrew Mahoney-Lan, 32, were first le. Cens figur reported about 19 percent of gay and lbian upl Iowa were raisg stute predicted an April 2008 study that more than 2, 900 of Iowa's same-sex upl would marry the first three years if gay marriage beme legal.

SON OF IOWA LBIANS FIGHTS GAY MARRIAGE BAN

Based on experienc of other stat that allow same-sex unn, the stute timated about 55, 000 gay and lbian upl would travel to Iowa to marry durg that what tangible benefs those upl will ga om marriage remas marriage advot said some advantag are clear, cludg shared employer benefs, streamled life and other surance polici, and the abily for upl to make health re and end-of-life cisns for one another.

"Sharon Malheiro, a D Mo attorney and board chairwoman of One Iowa, a gay advocy anizatn, said other issu may require legal untanglg, such as the abily to file wrongful ath lawsus or apply for workers pensatn benefs if a same-sex spoe is killed or said same-sex upl probably will be nied some benefs unr the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law barrg feral regnn of same-sex marriag. "MORE:David Twombley, a pneer among LGBTQ Iowans' fight for accs to marriage, has diedRELATED:Larry Hoch di; played key role changg liv of LGBTQ IowansPeople on both sis say 's possible the Polk County se will lead to new legal rights for gays who claim marriage opponents say that ncern already has strengthened lls for a nstutnal amendment that f marriage Iowa as a solely heterosexual lawyers on Monday filed their first official rponse to the upl' lawsu: a wrten "answer" that formally ntts the upl' legal claims but tak no philosophil posn on gay marriage.

IOWA COURT VOIDS GAY MARRIAGE BAN

Assistant Polk County Attorney Mike O'Meara cled to observers say the lawsu, filed by a natnal gay-rights anizatn, is likely six months away om any kd of cisn. "The lawsu ntends, among other thgs, that Iowa dooms gays and lbians to send-class stat bee forbids them om "makg the legal mment to one another that marriage entails. "Bee of a state law's requirement that "only a marriage between a male and a female is valid, " gay partners are treated unequally when to thgs like tax, child ctody, property rights and even the right to make burial cisns for a ceased partner, acrdg to the judiciary, state policsThe six upl seek a urt orr that clar the seven-year-old gay marriage ban unnstutnal and mand that Polk County Rerr Tim Brien issue them marriage se potential danger for his e an Iowa Supreme Court cisn last year volvg a bted civil unn between two Sux Cy women who were joed a ceremony Vermont.

But the proposal is unlikely to advance this year, sce Senate Democratic Lear Mike Gronstal views as stalemate means gay marriage, aga, is expected to figure promently this fall's legislative mpaigns.

"Gay marriage supporters say Iowans have long had a reputatn for tolerance, and they're hopg that tolerance n Iowa Poll 2003 found 65 percent of Iowans supported Iowa's current ban on gay marriag. But the same poll found that 49 percent of Iowans believed that gay and lbian upl should have the same legal rights as heterosexual 's numbers like that that give hope to people like Twombley, Hoch and the other platiffs.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT A SEEMGLY FAKE DOCUMENT A GAY RIGHTS CASE

3, 2011— -- The latt Inter hero is Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old Universy of Iowa engeerg stunt and Eagle Sut whose parents are gave a three-mute speech Tuday before Iowa legislators urgg them not to pass a nstutnal amendment that would ban gay marriage and civil words went viral across the Inter and had nearly a half ln hs on YouTube today. Terry Wahls and Jacquele Reger, were married after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage scribed his blogil mother, who suffers om multiple sclerosis, as the "bravt woman I know. Three Democrats joed 59 Republins to vote favor of amendg the Constutn to ban gay marriage, which passed by a 62-37 approved by legislators and voters 2013, the amendment to the nstutn would ban gay marriage, civil unns, domtic partnerships and any ernment regnn of gay and lbian upl the stateGay Marriage Is Legal Six StatThe year his parents wed, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimoly legalized gay marriage, makg the third state and the first heartland state to allow same-sex upl to marriage is now legal New Hampshire, Massachetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Washgton, D.

A 2008 Universy of Iowa field poll om October of last year found that over 32 percent of Iowa voters opposed same-sex marriage and only 28 percent supported gay marriage, acrdg to the Iowa Fay Policy Center. The group has lobbied for Hoe Jot Rolutn One Iowa, an advocy group that oppos the ban, said that poll also asked about support for civil unns, and 30 percent opposed gay marriage, but supported civil unns.

A more recent 2010 poll showed 53 percent supported gay marriage and 41 percent were opposed, acrdg to One Langbehn, who wh her late partner Lisa Pond raised four adopted children, all wh special needs, said that, "Zach is absolutely rrect that my children don't ask for special treatment.

I WAS PART OF 303 CREATIVE'S CASE. I BACK GAY MARRIAGE—BUT SCOTUS IS RIGHT

A growg number of children who affectnately ll themselv "gaybi" or "queer spawn" are now rhapg the Amerin the 270, 000 children livg wh same-sex parents, about 65, 000 are adopted.

-- or 594, 391 people -- intify themselv as gay, lbian or transgenr, and about 20 percent of them are raisg children unr the age of 18, acrdg to the Williams Instute, an anizatn that advanc sexual orientatn law and public policy. Studi Show Children of Gays are AlrightRecent studi nclu that children of same-sex parents do as well as children of heterosexual the Cens Bure add a tegory for unwed partners about 20 years, ago the fai uld beg to be unted. A Universy of Southern California study nclus that children wh lbian or gay parents show more empathy for social diversy, are ls nfed by genr stereotyp, and are probably more likely to explore homosexual activy themselv, acrdg to an article the Amerin Soclogil Review.

"As for Wahls, he said he is disappoted that the Iowa Hoe voted favor of the ban on gay marriage, but he is nvced will not pass the state sister -- a full blogil sister bee the fay ed the same sperm donor -- was proud of his speech, and so were his parents. “We are firmly nvced the excln of gay and lbian people om the stutn of civil marriage do not substantially further any important ernmental objective, ” Jtice Mark S. ” Lears of Lambda Legal, which is based New York and led — along wh state and lol lawyers here — the legal se before the Supreme Court, said Iowans had a long history of openmdns, or as State Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat who is openly gay, scribed , “a live and let live attu.