Iowa Comes Through!

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage today -- unanimously. Iowa therefore becomes the third state to legalize gay marriage after Massachusetts and Connecticut (and of course briefly California, before the Prop 8 train wreck).

New Hampshire and Vermont are also closing in; Vermont's gay marriage bill passed both houses of the legislature, although it is now threatened by the governor's promised veto.

The fact that this occurred in Iowa of all places shocks some people (even in the Midwest, I would guess). But in terms of mainstreaming the marriage equality movement, the Iowa decision feels like a significant step forward in that it comes from the literal and metaphoric middle of the country, rather than one of the coasts. Are these really "activist" judges at work, as the anti-marriage folks claim? Really? Even in a unanimous ruling in Iowa? Maybe it's time the antis realize that equal protection under the law is a basic tenet of democracy, and not some radical, out-there idea.

And while I feel it is somewhat common for liberals to stereotype Midwesterners as ultra-conservative, bigoted, backwoods rednecks (which we all are NOT, btw... MN, WI, & IL especially tend to be BLUE states in presidential elections, with a long history of progressive politics), I've also noticed that some Midwesterners scoff at the lawmaking on the coasts as if it were happening in a foreign, dystopic land (whatever the issue). So I think a decision like this not only shows other parts of the country that the Midwest cares about civil liberties; it also shows many in the Midwest that they are indeed part of a larger American movement based on foundations of civil rights, human dignity, and social justice. Not just some "kooky" idea hatched in L.A. or N.Y.C.

Read the full opinion of the Iowa court here.