Same-sex marriage in Iowa
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009.[1]
Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases on same-sex unions, starting in Hawaii, found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitutions of most states. Iowa legislators hurried to pass a local Defense of Marriage Act to prohibit marriage between gay and lesbian couples to avoid a similar court challenge.
In 2005, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Polk County same-sex couples and their children who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, arguing that this denial violated the liberty and equal protection clauses in the state constitution. In 2007, the Polk County District Court ruled in favor of the couples, prompting the county to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.[2] On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld the District Court's ruling holding that there was no important governmental interest in denying citizens marriage licenses based on their sexual orientation. Licenses were originally to be available 21 days after the ruling, on April 24, but the availability of licenses was subsequently postponed until April 27 due to a Furlough day.[1]
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2007 Polk County ruling
| “ | That’s a win. It’s not a final win, because the case is being appealed. But just a few years ago if people were asked if we could get a judge in Iowa to strike down the exclusion from marriage, right there in the heartland, I think most people would have said we couldn’t. | ” |
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—Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry on the Polk County decision, [3] |
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Judge Robert Hanson of Polk County District Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage on August 30, 2007. The next morning, Hanson issued a stay of his decision pending an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.[4][5]
Within two hours after the District Court ruling was published, two men from Des Moines submitted an application for marriage to the county recorder; their application was accepted. The next morning, several other couples applied for marriage licenses before Hanson's stay. Iowa marriage law requires a three-day waiting period between the initial application for a marriage license and the time the marriage becomes official, unless this waiting period is waived by a judge.[6] Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan, residents of Ames and students at Iowa State University, were the only couple to receive such a waiver before Hanson issued his stay order. After receiving the waiver and applying for a marriage license on the morning of August 31, the couple was married in a short ceremony that morning by a Unitarian Universalist minister on the minister's front lawn in Des Moines.[7]
Two other Ames residents who applied for a marriage license before the stay, Terry Lowman and Mark Kassis, were married on September 2 in a ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames.[8] Lowman and Kassis' three-day waiting period was waived by a judge, however Hanson's stay occurred before the couple was able to record the marriage license. However, it is legal opinion that the marriage is legal within Iowa.[6]
Legislative proposals
A state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage has been proposed several times in the state legislature in the wake of the judicial rulings.[9] To amend the constitution, two consecutive sessions of the legislature will need to approve the amendment, after which it would be placed on the ballot for final approval by the Iowa electorate.[10]
An amendment was first proposed in 2008 but did not pass.[9] The Legislature did not vote on a constitutional amendment in 2009, and Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said he would not allow one to be brought to the floor in 2010 either.[11] In a joint press release with House Speaker Pat Murphy on April 3, 2009, Gronstal welcomed the court's decision, saying "When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today’s events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency. Iowa has always been a leader in the area of civil rights.”[12]
Democratic leaders of Iowa Senate and Iowa House of Representatives during the 2009-2010 legislative session opposed a vote on an amendment.[13]
But on February 1, 2011, with Republicans in a majority in the Iowa House, the House passed House Joint Resolution 6 by a vote of 62-37. The resolution next moves to the Senate, where Democratic leaders have again promised to block debate.[14]
Same-sex marriage could also be banned via constitutional convention. Iowa voters can initiate a convention once a decade, which opens up the whole constitution for revision. The November 2, 2010 vote on this question resulted in not enough votes to initiate the convention.[15]
Economic impact
A UCLA study has analyzed the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on Iowa’s state budget. The study concluded that allowing same-sex couples to marry will result in a net gain of approximately $5.3 million each year for the State.[16] This net impact will be the result of savings in expenditures on state means-tested public benefit programs and an increase in state income and sales tax revenue.
Out-of-state unions
According to the Associated Press, out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples are recognized in Iowa. It is not clear whether or not out-of-state civil unions and registered domestic partnerships will be recognized in Iowa.[17]
Statistics
Between April 2009 and March 2010, 2,020 same-sex couples were married in Iowa, accounting for 10.1% of total marriages conducted in the state during that period. Only 815 couples were from Iowa, with the rest being from out of state, predominantly from neighboring Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska.[18]
Public opinion
A 2010 survey found that support for same-sex marriage in Iowa was 44%, the only state with same-sex marriage in which support was below 50%.[19] Support in Iowa has increased from below 30% in 1994-96, and from below 40% in 1997-98.[20] A January 2010 survey found that greater than 60% of Iowans agreed that same-sex marriage "does not deserve the Legislature's limited time" in the 2010 session, a truncated session in which legislation was introduced to overturn the same-sex marriage decision.[21] This followed a previous September 2009 poll which found 41% support for and 40% opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and that 92% of respondents said "marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples had led to 'no real change' in their own lives."[21]
An August 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 46% of Iowa voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 45% thought it should be illegal and 9% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 70% of Iowa voters supported the legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 40% supporting same-sex marriage, 30% supporting civil unions but not marriage, 29% favoring no legal recognition and 2% not sure.[22]
2010 Elections
On November 2, 2010, Iowa Supreme Court justices David Baker, Michael Streit, and Marsha Ternus, who participated in the unanimous 2009 ruling that Iowa could not deny marriage licenses based on sexual orientation, were removed from office after judicial retention elections.[23] Their removal followed campaigning by groups opposed to same-sex marriage including the National Organization for Marriage.[24] The three judges did no campaigning on their own behalf, but were supported by numerous third parties.[25]
See also
- Varnum v. Brien
- LGBT rights in Iowa
- Same-sex marriage in the United States
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
- Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
References
- ^ a b Iowa gay marriages delayed
- ^ Associated Press (2007-08-31). "Judge Overturns Iowa Ban on Same-Sex Marriages". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31iowa.html. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ Interview with Evan Wolfson, David Shankbone, September 30, 2007
- ^ Associated Press (2007-08-31). "Iowa Gay Marriages Abruptly Halted". 365Gay.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20070911111321/http://365gay.com/Newscon07/08/083107imar.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ Henderson, Kay (2007-08-31). "Ruling briefly allows gay marriage in Iowa". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN3124032520070831. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ a b Simons, Abby (2007-09-01). "Ruling applies in Polk, not to all of Iowa". Des Moines Register. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070901/NEWS/709010338/1001/NEWS. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
- ^ Miller, Kyle (2007-09-04). "A window of opportunity". Iowa State Daily. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927015503/http://media.www.iowastatedaily.com/media/storage/paper818/news/2007/09/04/News/A.Window.Of.Opportunity-2948013.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
- ^ Laura Pieper and Luke Jennett (2007-09-01). "Lucullan's owners set Sunday as wedding date". The Ames Tribune. http://www.midiowanews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18773436&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554188&rfi=8. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ a b Linda Miller (10 March 2008). "Funnel Week Survivors". http://www.qctimes.com/blogs/?p=1486. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ "Iowa Constitution, Article X, Section 1". http://search.legis.state.ia.us/NXT/gateway.dll/IowaState/ISLRoot/codeandsupp/const.htm?f=templates&fn=default.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ Gronstal: No gay marriage vote in 2010
- ^ Iowa Supreme Court: Gay marriage ban illegal, Southwest Iowa News, April 3, 2009
- ^ Glover, Mike (March 30, 2010). "A look at Iowa legislative session". Associated Press. Bloomberg Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EP6NK80.htm. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ Iowa House Votes For Marriage Ban
- ^ Scott, Monica (October 11, 2010). "What other states have done about constitutional conventions". The Grand Rapids Press. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/what_other_states_have_done_ab.html. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ M.V. Lee Badgett, Amanda K. Baumle, Adam P. Romero, and Brad Sears, The Impact on Iowa's Budget of Allowing Same-Sex Couples to Marry (April 1, 2008). The Williams Institute.
- ^ State of Iowa starts legal recognition of same-sex marriage Iowa State Daily, April 26, 2009
- ^ Iowa's 2,000 gay marriages mostly from nonresidents
- ^ Andrew Gelman, Jeffrey Lax, and Justin Phillips, "Over Time, a Gay Marriage Groundswell", New York Times, 2010/08/21.
- ^ See graphic, Andrew Gelman, Jeffrey Lax, and Justin Phillips, "Over Time, a Gay Marriage Groundswell", New York Times, 2010/08/21.
- ^ a b "New Iowa poll: Gay marriage not worth legislature's time", Pam's House Blend, 2010/02/08.
- ^ Public Policy Polling: "Iowans up on gay marriage and Branstad," August 26, 2011, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ "Iowans Dismiss Three Justices" Des Moines Register , November 3, 2010.
- ^ "Gay Marriage Foes Back Push To Oust Iowa Justices", 10/25/2010
- ^ "Vote 2010: Group Targets Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices"
External links
- Full text of Iowa Supreme Court ruling in Varnum v. Brien Opinion in fast loading form
- Official summary of Supreme Court ruling in Varnum v. Brien
- Full text of Judge Hanson's ruling in Varnum v. Brien
- One year later, gay marriage repeal appears to be on backburner, The Iowa Independent, April 1. 2010.
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