Polk judge rules against (Iowa) gay marriage ban

Crossposted from STOP the ACLU


I don't even want to get into the gay marriage debate here, except to note that most of the time when this kind of thing is "ordered" and forced on the people by the judicial branch it only results in backlash, new legislation, and making it even more difficult down the road for their advocates. Anyway...here is the news thats sure to make the primary explosive!

A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa’s law banning gay marriage.

The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson concluded that the state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and he ordered Polk County Recorder Tim Brien to issue marriage licenses to several gay couples.

“It’s a moral victory for equal rights,” said Des Moines lawyer Dennis Johnson, who represented six gay couples who filed suit after they were denied marriage licenses.

Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization, said the ruling requires “full equality for all Iowans including gay and lesbian Iowans and their families.”

“The Iowa Constitution has lived up to its promises of equality for everyone,” she said.

The county is expected to appeal the ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Brian at Liberty Pundit:

Obviously, this will eventually wind up in the Iowa Supreme Court…it might even go beyond that. Eventually there will be an amendment offered to the Iowa Constitution, but I highly doubt it will pass. Stranger things have happened, though.