Iowa has always been a politically important state. The Iowa caucuses are the first significant electoral contest in the presidential nominating process. As such, it should not be surprising that the Buckeye State has been on the forefront of gay rights and Iowa gay marriage has been legal for over five years.
April 3, 2009 was a historic day for gay marriage advocates in the state of Iowa and across the country. On that date, the state Supreme Court unanimously legalized gay marriage. With this vote, Iowa became one of the first states to legalize same sex unions, and the first gay couples were married in Iowa on April 27, 2009.
The Iowa gay marriage law had a number of ripple effects. Three of the justices on the court at the time of the ruling, Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker, all lost retention elections in November 2010 in a backlash over their votes. All three were subsequently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 in recognition for their judicial independence.
The ruling was also very significant to many homosexual couples who were not residents of Iowa; it provided them a place to legitimize their unions even if they were not recognized in their home states. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, close to two-thirds of the same sex weddings that occurred in the state from 2009-2012 were couples from other states.
The upcoming November elections are very important for the future of Iowa gay marriage. If GOP Governor Terry Branstad is re-elected, and the Republicans win majorities in both the Iowa House and Senate, they would be positioned to put a referendum on the ballot to overturn the 2009 law. The state’s conservatives are very hopeful at the potential opportunity to have this important legislation repealed.
Iowa was one of the first states to offer marriage equality. However, proponents of same sex unions must continue to be vigilant in their advocacy efforts to ensure this important right is not taken away.
