Iowa Supreme Court Beats Down Gay Marriage Ban - *shock*

well, that's three down - only 47 to go
(i'm not counting California)
*sigh*
but, this is BIG NEWS -  the first state in my "native" neck of the woods
while i don't think that Ohio is going to follow suit any time soon, i'm very pleased that Iowa Supreme Court has taken this positive initiative
and impatient
progress can't come soon enough!!!

*this comes in the wake of the news that Sweden just legalized marriage - another country down, many to go!

Stockholm - Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:48:03 GMT - A broad majority in the Swedish parliament Wednesday approved adoption of same-sex marriage legislation after a six-hour debate. Six of the seven parties in parliament had backed the proposal drafted by the Committee on Civil Affairs to introduce a gender- neutral marriage law. Only the Christian Democrats, one of the four parties in the ruling centre-right coalition, opposed the move.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iHUp4BkOCwXHCaN3c1RyYj61fYTQD97BM4000

By AMY LORENTZEN – 1 hour ago

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gay marriage, seemingly the province of the nation's two coasts, is just weeks away from becoming a reality in the heartland and apparently it will be years before social conservatives have a chance to stop it.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman. Now gays and lesbians may exchange vows as soon as April 24 following the landmark decision.

The county attorney who defended the law said he would not seek a rehearing. The only recourse for opponents appeared to be a constitutional amendment, which couldn't get on the ballot until 2012 at the earliest.

"I would say the mood is one of mourning right now in a lot of ways," said a dejected Bryan English, spokesman for the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage.

In the meantime, same-sex marriage opponents may try to enact residency requirements for marriage so that gays and lesbians from across the country could not travel to Iowa to wed.

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged the Legislature to do so, saying he feared without residency requirements Iowa would "become the gay marriage mecca."

Only Massachusetts and Connecticut currently permit same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November.

For gays and lesbians, meanwhile, the day was one of jubilation. The Vermont House of Representatives also passed a measure Friday that would allow same-sex couples to wed, on a 94-52 roll call vote, just short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Douglas.

Gay marriage supporters hoped to convince a few Vermont legislators to switch when it comes to the override vote, which could be taken as soon as Tuesday.

In Iowa, hundreds cheered, waved rainbow flags and shed tears of joy at rallies in seven cities Friday evening. "Corn-fed and Ready to Wed!" read one man's sign at a gathering at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

In downtown Des Moines, about 300 people gathered beneath rainbow flags to celebrate including Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie.

"We finally have equality in Iowa," said Harold Delaria, of Des Moines, who attended the rally and has two gay children. "It's kind of the last wall of legalized discrimination and it's coming tumbling down."

The Rev. Diane McLanahan of Trinity United Methodist Church in Des Moines acknowledged that many people of faith won't agree with the ruling. With that in mind, she said the court has reached a decision that "pretty much insists that this will not be a debate about religious rights but a matter of equality and fairness."

In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld an August 2007 decision by a judge who found that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection.

Iowa lawmakers have "excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification," the justices wrote.

To issue any other decision, the seven justices said, "would be an abdication of our constitutional duty."

At a news conference announcing the decision, plaintiff Kate Varnum, 34, introduced her partner, Trish Varnum, as "my fiance."

"I never thought I'd be able to say that," she said, fighting back tears.

Jason Morgan, 38, said he and his partner, Chuck Swaggerty, adopted two sons, confronted the death of Swaggerty's mother and endured a four-year legal battle as plaintiffs.

"If being together though all of that isn't love and commitment or isn't family or marriage, then I don't know what is," Morgan said. "We are very happy with the decision today and very proud to live in Iowa."

Iowa has a history of being in the forefront on social issues. It was among the first states to legalize interracial marriage and to allow married women to own property. It was also the first state to admit a woman to the bar to practice law and was a leader in school desegregation.*

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, said state lawmakers were unlikely to consider gay marriage legislation in this legislative session, which is expected to end within weeks.

Gronstal also said he's "not inclined" to propose a constitutional amendment during next year's session. Without a vote by the Legislature this year or next, the soonest gay marriage could be repealed would be 2014.

Amendments to Iowa's constitution must be passed by the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies, which each last two years, and then approved by a simple majority of voters during a general election.

Iowa's Democratic governor, Chet Culver, said he would review the decision before announcing his views.

Associated Press writers Nigel Duara in Urbandale and Marco Santana, Melanie S. Welte, Michael Crumb and Mike Glover in Des Moines contributed to this report.

*did not know this!

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also, some of the text of the decision: covering the argument basically that gay marriage is a danger to family values - and illuminates the hypocrisy of it all - encouraging language below, don't you think?

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Massachusetts, Connecticut and now Iowa allow same-sex couples to marry - all the result of decisions by the states' high courts.

California briefly allowed same-sex marriage last year before a voter initiative in November repealed it. The outcome of that vote is now being challenged by lawsuits contending that the ballot measure eliminated rights that should not have been subjected to a majority vote. The state Supreme Court will rule within the next 60 days.

CIVIL UNIONS

Vermont, New Hampshire and New Jersey permit same-sex couples to enter into civil unions that entail the same rights and responsibilities as marriage, but gay-rights activists in all three states are pushing for full-fledged marriage rights.

In Vermont, the state Senate this week joined the House in voting in favor of gay marriage, though it's unclear whether a threatened veto by Gov. Jim Douglas can be overridden.

New Hampshire's House passed a marriage bill in March, which now awaits a Senate vote.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has pledged to sign a same-sex marriage bill that has been introduced in the legislature.

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS

California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have domestic-partnership laws that extend many of the benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Hawaii and Maine have more limited laws extending certain spousal rights to same-sex couples.

CONSTITUTIONAL BANS

Voters in 29 states have approved state constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment empowering the Legislature to outlaw same-sex marriage; lawmakers did so in 1998.

- Associated Press