[Imbrifer]

Judge: Iowa gay marriage ban unconstitutional
DES MOINES n Gay rights advocates won a major victory Thursday when a Polk County District Judge ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage violates the Iowa Constitution.

"This court has yet to hear any convincing argument as to how excluding same-sex couples from getting married promotes responsible reproduction in general or by different-sex couples in particular. So far as this court can tell (the law) operates only to harm same-sex couples and their children," said the ruling from Judge Robert Hanson.

The ruling says the law must be rewritten in a gender neutral manner to allow same-sex couples to enter into civil marriage.

"This decision brings to life the Iowa Constitution's promise of equality for same-sex couples and their families in Iowa," said Camilla Taylor, attorney for Lambda Legal, the gay rights group that argued the case.

Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan Republican, said he was disappointed but not surprised. He was one of the co-sponsors of a bill that would have put the gay marriage ban before voters as a proposed Constitutional amendment. He said the ruling underscores the need to resolve this issue with voters, not the courts.

"We should get this issue on the ballot as quickly as we possibly can," he said.

The case will almost certainly be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/arti...470072ece1.txt

Yeah! Equality ftw!

All the same arguments against gay marriage were used against bi-racial marriage in the fifties. Did it destroy marriage, lead to bestiality, erode families or anything else they said it would?

/all about equal rights