The Iowa Supreme Court *unanimously* strikes down Iowa's gay marriage ban! How do you feel?

To be truthful, I don't understand why people say that if Gay & Lesbians are allowed to make there union legal it will be a threat to traditional marriage. These people have been living together & loving each other since the beginning of time. They will continue to live together and love eachother whether or not their union is legal. Allowing people who love differently to be legally the next of kin will not in anyway hurt me, nor will it hurt anyone else.

As the judge pointed out in his decision, marriage is a civil contract. Numerous people confuse this fact with personal belief regarding what a "marriage" should be.

Despite the fanfare of a typical marriage ceremony, a couple will not be announced to be married by a pastor, etc., unless they have signed the marriage license that has been provided to them by the State. The pastor declares that a couple have become one, but that is merely a declaration of the pastor. The pastor can make such a declaration, only because the State has granted the pastor the authority to do so.

Based upon my understanding of the law, a couple that has signed a marriage license would still be married even if both of them decided to bolt from the wedding ceremony and declare themselves disengaged.

Thank God! It's about time the state courts started ruling according to the law instead of political expediency and public/personal opinion. I hope this inspires more courage in other states courts.

Woooohoooooo!

Maybe we ought to give Iowa a try:

Oh, there's nothing halfway

About the Iowa way to treat you,

When we treat you

Which we may not do at all.

There's an Iowa kind of special

Chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.

We've never been without.

That we recall.

We can be cold

As our falling thermometers in December

If you ask about our weather in July.

And we're so by God stubborn

We could stand touchin' noses

For a week at a time

And never see eye-to-eye.

But what the heck, you're welcome,

Join us at the picnic.

You can eat your fill

Of all the food you bring yourself.

You really ought to give Iowa a try.

Provided you are contrary,

We can be cold

As our falling thermometer in December

If you ask about our weather in July.

And we're so by God stubborn

We can stand touchin' noses

For a week at a time

And never see eye-to-eye.

But we'll give you our shirt

And a back to go with it

If your crops should happen to die.

This is a fantastic precedent. It's no longer 'gays' versus 'religion', it's one religion's rights versus another religion's rights. There aren't many courts in the U.S. who are going to rule that one religion has the right to dictate another's practices.

I would love to see a coalition of clergy and organizing bodies of different religions file a joint suit for an end to the discrimination that they face, with some of the marriages they officiate recognized by the state and some not.

This ruling could prove far larger than one state.

How about that. Every now and again our legal system works. Move the countdown clock to dictatorship back 1 minute.

It restores my faith in Democracy, and in our country's judiciary. If, as religionists try to force down our throats, marriage was a sacred, god-ordained union ONLY between a man and a woman, there would be no necessity (as there is in every State in the U.S.) for a CIVIL contract before that union could be considered legitimate.

Religious ignorance is no excuse for bigotry and homophobia.

Joe P:

You really should try, hard, to drag yourself out of the Middle Ages. Your "alleged" god also declared eating SHRIMP to be an "abomination". Should we pass laws denying shrimp eaters the right to marry OTHER shrimp eaters???? How silly your biblical "abominations" are when exposed to the light of reason and common sense.

Bluto:

My choice would be: you are having 'a really shitty day'. lol

Well, I never thought I would live to see this day. But God doesn't see any difference in same sex couples having sex without marriage as he does different sex couples having sex without marriage. Sin is sin so I guess it would be better for them if they could get married.

Most excellent! The Iowa judiciary saw the religious implications of the gay marriage ban and saw rightly that the government has no business entering that debate. They rightly recognized that other religions have no problem with gay marriage and ruled on that basis. This is a fine example of a well-reasoned ruling.

I'm thrilled for Iowa!

Finally someone gets it. I agree with everything they said . Why is it that one church can want gay marriage banned and another church can want to accept it? One church should not be allowed to control another under the law. Good for Iowa.

I've been saying that a ban on gay marriage constitutes a violation of religious freedom for years.

This one probably can't get prop 8'd because I don't think a state can have a referendum on whether or not they would like to still have religious freedom in their state.