Back in early April, Iowa surprised the nation when our state's Supreme Court unanimously ruled to extend civil marriage to all couples. A few weeks later, civil marriage became a reality for committed, same sex couples across Iowa. After two months of same-sex couples marrying in Iowa we're happy to report that life is going along much as it always has.
Centered in the heartland of America, many folks have wondered, "Why Iowa?" For us, there really was no wondering. As lifelong Iowans, we know our state has always led the nation in fairness and protecting individual rights and liberties. Iowa freed a slave named Ralph 26 years before the end of the Civil War. We ended segregation in our schools 85 years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the same way. Back in 1873, the Iowa high court ruled against racial discrimination in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same conclusion. Iowa was also the first state in the nation to allow women to practice law.
In the case of recognizing loving relationships between two adults, the Iowa Supreme Court once again took a leadership position on civil rights. Perhaps the only surprise was the unanimous ruling from a diverse Iowa high court made up of both Democratic and Republican appointees. The court was unequivocal in its opinion that a state law which only allows marriage between a man and a woman has "excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."
The court clearly stated their ruling has no impact on any religious institution; it simply means that a county recorder cannot deny a marriage license to a same-sex couple. No church or religious institution will be forced to conduct a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple.
The week the unanimous court ruling came down, you may remember the popularity of Sen. Gronstal's statements in the Legislature gained through a YouTube video. In it, Gronstal stated: "I see people who simply want to profess their love for each other and want state law to recognize that. Is that so wrong? I don't think that's so wrong." Though we never expected those statements to get heard by so many, we're thankful they were.
The more people look at this issue as simply an extension of fairness to all loving, committed couples, the more people will understand why marriage equality is just another part of Iowa's long-standing commitment to fairness.
While we do realize some Iowans have a different view, we don't think we should be in the business of writing discrimination into the Iowa Constitution. It's a document that argues for equal protection and tolerance that has withstood the test of time.
Since the ruling in Iowa just last month, three other states have already expanded civil marriage to same sex couples. While we are deeply proud of our state's history granting equal rights to all decades before other states, we're glad the rest of the country isn't taking so long to catch up this time.
Democratic State Sen. Mike Gronstal is the Iowa Senate majority leader; Democratic State Rep. Pat Murphy is the Iowa House Speaker. The photo is an official headshot of Gronstal.
