Gay marriage legalized in Iowa!

[Caliga]

At least, for now.

Iowa Court Ruling Paves Way for Gay Marriage

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the state's same-sex-marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making it the third state where gay marriage is legal.

In a unanimous ruling issued Friday, the court upheld a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law was unconstitutional. The case stems from a 2005 lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay-rights organization. The group filed a lawsuit on behalf of six gay and lesbian Iowa couples who were denied marriage licenses.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the two states that allow same-sex couples to marry. California briefly recognized gay marriage until voters banned it in a referendum last year.

Meanwhile, the Vermont House of Representatives late Thursday approved a bill legalizing gay marriage, a measure that now faces a veto from the state's governor.

The Democratic-controlled house voted 95-52 in favor of the bill, which had already cleared the state Senate in a 26-4 vote. The state's Republican governor, James Douglas, says he now plans to veto it.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is hugged by opponents of the gay-marriage bill in Montpelier Thursday. Douglas has threatened to veto the measure.

Supporters of the Vermont bill would need additional votes in the house to override the veto, which requires two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the legislature.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire and Maine also are considering bills that would allow gay marriage.

The Defense of Marriage Act says that under federal law only a marriage between a man and a woman is recognized. President Barack Obama has said he wants to repeal the 1996 law. That could give same-sex couples in states that recognize gay marriage or civil unions access to federal benefits, such as Social Security payments in the event of the death of one of the partners.

Opponents of gay marriage say the legislative efforts in Vermont and elsewhere in New England are part of a lobbying campaign to hasten the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"They are trying to provide new reasons for the repeal," says Maggie Gallagher, president of the conservative National Organization for Marriage.

Gay-marriage supporters in Vermont say they are completing a process that began in 2000 when the state became the first in the country to allow full civil unions for same-sex couples. Since then, four other states, including California and New Jersey, did the same, meaning that at the state level a same-sex couple is treated like a married couple in almost all regards but name. Four other states give gay couples some of the rights enjoyed by married couples, according to Family Equality Council, a gay-rights group.

After Massachusetts, Connecticut and Quebec allowed gay marriage, the mood brightened for advocates in Vermont. "People here have seen what it looks like and realized it doesn't harm anybody," said Shap Smith, the Democratic speaker of Vermont's House of Representatives.

Still the issue remains divisive. A poll cited by a group called Vermont Freedom to Marry says 55% of Vermonters support gay marriage while 38% oppose and 7% are undecided.

The battle began in 1997 when a man named Stan Baker and his partner teamed up with a lesbian couple in a bid to get the state of Vermont to recognize same-sex relationships. The state's Supreme Court ruled in their favor in 1999, and the legislature authorized civil unions a year later, stopping short of approving full marriage. Mr. Baker says he had to accept the compromise even though it amounted to "separate but equal" treatment for gay couples.

The issue remains highly charged. Last week, Mr. Douglas, the governor, said he would veto the gay-marriage bill if it reached his desk. He called on lawmakers to focus on the economy instead.

[garbon]

Damn, you beat me.

[Caliga]

Damn, you beat me.

I love teh gays more than you do.... well, certainly more than the people of California do.

[Valmy]

Opponents of gay marriage say the legislative efforts in Vermont and elsewhere in New England are part of a lobbying campaign to hasten the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act.

I love the 1984-esque names all the bigoted organizations and laws take.  I also love the idea that this is some sort of conspiracy ("a lobbying campaign" well no shit sherlock every political movement is "a lobbying campaign") and not a movement with alot of popular support.

[Caliga]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: in a generation or two people will be embarassed to have ever supported the anti-gay rights movement (or have had parents that did).  It'll be like how people in the south are about segregationists today.

[ulmont]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: in a generation or two people will be embarassed to have ever supported the anti-gay rights movement (or have had parents that did).  It'll be like how people in the south are about segregationists today.

Makes you wonder what you'll end up being left behind on generationally...

[Queequeg]

I know things must get boring out on a farm, but they sure found a funny way to pass the time.

[Phillip V]

Nice. Midwest? That should stir things up.

[saskganesh]

I know things must get boring out on a farm, but they sure found a funny way to pass the time.

we'll it's much easer to be tolerant of gays, when you don't have armies of marty's and garbo's pissing in the rhetorical coffee pot. 

[Fireblade]

GOD HATES IOWA!

Hey Yi, you can get married now.