Gay marriage and the Iowa Supreme Court
How the Iowa Supreme Court just changed the debate on same-sex unions
That loud noise you just heard, said Joe Sudbay in America Blog, was “heads exploding at Mormon headquarters and the American Family Association.” You see, the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that banning gay marriage violates the state’s Constitution, making Iowa the third state—and the first in the Midwest—where same-sex marriage is legal. Times are changing fast as Americans embrace “marriage equality,” and it’s driving the haters crazy.
Conservatives have every right to be outraged by this “lawless judicial attack on traditional marriage,” said Ed Whelan in National Review. These “judicial knaves” claim they’re respecting the need to interpret the guarantee of “equal protection” according to each generation’s standards, but that’s “gobbledygook.” If the judges wanted to respect the standards of Iowa’s citizens, they would have honored the statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman.
No matter where you fall on the issue, said Robert Schlesinger in U.S. News and World Report, at least you know one debate that will be front and center during the 2012 presidential primaries. The Iowa caucuses kick off each presidential primary season, so gay marriage will be a huge issue for Republican candidates. And this will make it easier for conservatives to accuse liberal judges of legislating from the bench—so the impact of this decision will be “both immediate and enduring.”
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