"The demands of Bob Vander Plaats for Iowa’s remaining four Supreme Court justices to resign is vengeful and irresponsible, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said today. [Vander Plaats is a Sioux City businessman and former GOP candidate for governor.]

Vander Plaats is against equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. He led efforts this year that defeated three of Iowa’s justices’ retention this year.

Here’s the entire statement from Ben Stone, the director of the ACLU of Iowa:

“Bob Vander Plaats’ recent demand that the four remaining Iowa Supreme Court justices resign is irresponsible. It does nothing to promote good government or the quality of justice in Iowa. Instead, it suggests a desire for revenge.

Calling for these resignations is premature. These four justices will eventually come up for retention votes. Until those elections take place, the justices should do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Calling for their resignations now demonstrates little more than a push for retribution.

Urging resignations also is irresponsible. The current court has been gutted by nearly half, slowing important cases and disrupting the ability of this critical court to function.

It’s also just plain unwarranted. These justices, no matter what one thinks of marriage equality, were simply doing their job–applying the Iowa Constitution to the best of their ability.

More than a half-century ago, state supreme courts across the country were making highly unpopular decisions on racial and gender equality, including the desegregation of schools and other public places. Those justices, too, were simply doing their job to determine equality under the law despite the lack of a contemporary popular mandate.”