Iowa Supreme Court Unanimous - Same-Sex Marriage is Allowed in Iowa

This is the news from Lambda Legal: What a thrilling day! The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in Iowa. This historic decision fulfills the Iowa Constitution's promises of liberty and equality. We are so proud of the courageous plaintiffs and their families who stood up for love, dignity and equal treatment under the law.

The Iowa Supreme Court is the fourth state high court to rule that excluding same–sex couples from civil marriage is unconstitutional, after Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. In their powerful unanimous decision, Justice Cady wrote:

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."

Lambda Legal filed this case in 2005 on behalf of six same–sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, and on behalf of three of their children. Dawn and Jen BarbouRoske of Iowa City are one of our wonderful plaintiff couples. They have been together more than 18 years and have two children, McKinley and Breeanna. After Jen delivered McKinley eight weeks early, they realized that Dawn could be prevented from being with their daughter in the hospital because she was not legally related to either Jen or the baby. Because they were not married, they had to leave their daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital to seek the help of an attorney. This experience drives home just how important it is to be able to marry.

In the coming days, we will provide more analysis about the decision, and will soon make available a fact sheet with basic information about getting married in Iowa. Check our website periodically for more information.

We look forward to talking with you more about this case and its impact. Monday, April 6 at 3:00 pm EST (2:00 pm CST) we will host a members–only teleconference featuring the architect of the case, Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney Camilla Taylor, and her colleague on the case Senior Counsel Ken Upton.

This victory has meaning beyond Iowa — it sends a positive message to the whole country about standing up for the values of equality and fairness and family. Winning an important ruling like this re–energizes us at Lambda Legal for the fights ahead and reminds us how lucky we are to be working together for justice and dignity for LGBT people and people with HIV. Thank you for all your support.

Here is a link to another story on this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090403/ap_on_re_us/iowa_gay_marriage