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Iowa Shows Freedom to Marry's Time Has Come and Place is Everywhere

Google News Comment
April 3, 2009

There's a rainbow over Iowa today—and equality in marriage has come to America's heartland. With the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision in favor of the freedom to marry, Iowa now joins Massachusetts and Connecticut in ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The Iowa ruling shows that securing the freedom to marry is a civil rights cause whose time has come and whose place is everywhere.

As if that were not inspiring enough, Iowa's legislative leaders released a joint statement shortly after the ruling that modeled how our political leaders ought to greet (and assist) civil rights advances:

"Thanks to today's decision, Iowa continues to be a leader in guaranteeing all of our citizens' equal rights…When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today's events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency."

Momentum for the freedom to marry continues across the nation:

• Vermont's House last night joined the Senate in overwhelmingly voting for a bill to end marriage discrimination, which now goes to the governor (whose veto, if he carries through on his threat, must be overriden);
• New Hampshire's House of Representatives passed a marriage bill in March, which now awaits a vote in the Senate;
• Maine's legislature will hold hearings this month on a marriage bill, and
• the California Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to the discriminatory Proposition 8, brought by a broad array of civil rights and other groups.

Elected officials and judges should follow the Iowa court's unanimous lead—equal protection means equal, and all should share that equality in the precious freedom to marry. And all of us can help them do their job by doing ours—speaking out now to the people in our lives who need to hear from us, explaining why marriage matters and helping them push past their discomfort and rising to fairness.