State Supreme Court Smackdown!

The ones getting smacked were the people representing the Polk County Recorder's office, of course! Marriage equality has come to Iowa today, and I couldn't be happier!!!!

I also, being the dork that I am, read the full decision (okay, I skimmed parts of it - I understand the difference between strict scrutiny, rational basis, and intermediate scrutiny, so I just needed to know what they used). It is amazing. Read it here. (The six-page summary for you wusses is here.)

The Iowa Supreme Court took every argument that the Polk County Recorder's office raised and thoroughly ripped them to tiny little shreds. Then they poured gasoline on those shreds and burnt them. Then, they took the ashes, and steamrolled over them. It was a thing of beauty. I love when justices do this - it is devastating and marvelous all at once! I had every confidence that the defendants had a weak case, and boy did it show in this decision. And can I just say, "Thank you!!!" to the justices for their strong, reasoned, principled, and thorough work? A-freakin-mazing.

Also, they nicely made clear that this is about CIVIL MARRIAGE and does not affect RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE in any way. Except that now I don't have to feel that I'm participating in a discriminatory act when I sign opposite-sex marriage licenses. And, of course, I can marry gay and lesbian couples, starting April 24. But all y'all who don't want to perform same-sex marriage and who want to pour on the hate over my gay and lesbian friends still are free to do so.

And it was UNANIMOUS! What a great day to be an Iowan!! God be praised! And thank you, God, for justices who do their work mindful of the firestorm it may create but courageous enough to do their job of interpreting the constitutionality of laws nonetheless.

Marriage Equality Comes to Iowa?

The Iowa Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments this morning. (EDITED TO UPDATE LINK)You can listen live here. (FWIW, the justices are hitting both sides hard, and one side was clearly ready for it. The one defending marriage discrimination was not compelling at all.) A decision is expected sometime in March, according to a totally unofficial source I saw this weekend at Gov. Culver's Holiday Party.

I can scarely say how much this would mean to me personally. I've always had mixed feelings about signing state marriage licenses when the state participates in discrimination against my family. I've done so, for a variety of reasons I won't go into here, but it is not without discussion with each couple I've married about my feelings.

When marriage equality came to my home state, California, this past spring, I seriously considered packing my robe, stole, and book of worship, getting a plane ticket home, and showing up at state courthouses asking who wanted to be married on the first day gay and lesbian couples could. Instead, I waited until August, and flew home to marry my moms, who have been together for nearly 20 years. (I blogged about that experience here.) And good thing they did, too, given the result of Prop 8 last month.

Now that I'm living here in Iowa, I am positively giddy at the possibility of marriage equality here. I joked with some friends that if this does pass, I'll go to Des Moines in my robe, stole, and BOW on the first day it's legal to marry gay couples there. They said, "Please don't. We may want you to marry us that day." For them, and for all my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who long to know what my beloved and I get to take for granted, let's hope the Iowa SC does the right thing.