Equality in Iowa – and Virginia

National, Politics, Virginia 1 Minute

Who would have thought it?

The Iowa Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld gays’ right to marry.

“The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution,” the justices said in a summary of their decision.

The court rules that gay marriage would be legal in three weeks, starting April 24.

Reading through the comments here, I found this link to the Iowa constitution, which deals with amendments. Unlike California’s system, amending the constitution in Iowa is much like amending that of Virginia’s: passage by the legislature twice and then put to the voters.

It will be interesting to see if the legislature, controlled by Democrats, even brings this up. Kudos to the Iowa Supreme Court.

~

Speaking of equality, I traveled to UVA last Sunday to speak at the 2009 Generation Equality Conference, =QUAL (empowering queer activism and leadership). Sponsored by Queer & Allied Activism (QuAA) and Equality Virginia, the conference brought together students from all over the Commonwealth to discuss issues facing the LBGTQI community and to give them the tools to help move towards achieving equality for all Virginians. I understand that the 3-day event had about 120 registrants (sadly, none from my alma mater, ODU) who participated in various workshops and networking events.

It was a privilege to be asked to provide Sunday’s keynote address. I hope that my words help to inspire activism on the part of these young people, who will lead us in the not-so-distant future.

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6 thoughts on “Equality in Iowa – and Virginia”

  1. This is so very encouraging – seeing the phrase “equal protection” held to its promise.

    Unlike California’s system, amending the constitution in Iowa is much like amending that of Virginia’s: passage by the legislature twice and then put to the voters.

    It will be interesting to see if the legislature, controlled by Democrats, even brings this up.

    The question is “Who will be Iowa’s Creigh Deeds?”, I imagine.

    1. Especially since Iowa doesn’t allow ballot initiatives. And to be clear, the legislature has to vote for the bill in two consecutive sessions (ie, the one that proposes it, and then the one after the next general election), then the amendment goes to the voters. That’d take, what, until about 2012? Sad thing is, there are some people who will look at that whole horrible process and decide that having who they want to marry written down in the law (so they don’t forget 😉 ) is totally worth it. Otherwise, they might see some happy gay couple, and then, god only knows what might happen!

  2. As you well know….it’s only a matter of time. The younger generation does not have the same “bias” as a few of their parents.

    But it can never be too soon when it comes to each individual’s civil rights.

    Hopefully one day America will live up to her potential and insure that ALL of her citizens have equal protection under the law.

    buzz…buzz….

  3. I hope that within the next couple of election cycles, Virginia will repeal the gay marriage amendment to its constitution. I wouldn’t advocate another amendment to legalize gay marriage outright (simply because I don’t believe there is a majority in the General Assembly or in the state to do so), but as long as Amendment 15A is on the record, it precludes the kind of conversation about gay marriage that could result in the breakdown of the last openly discriminatory policy that exists in this state.

    I hope that with a growing urban and suburban progressive base in Virginia, the exposure to different cultures and lifestyles will make our citizens more open to giving gays their due rights.

    1. To ban gay marriage? Why? Why do you care? What is the state’s interest in getting involved in licensing marriage to begin with?

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