Same-sex marriage in Iowa
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Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa was allowed for a short time from August 30 to August 31, 2007, in Polk County as a result of a ruling by Robert Hanson, a judge in the Polk County District Court.[1] The ruling was made as a result of a suit brought against Polk County by six same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses. Hanson's ruling states, in part, that
"Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage... by reason of the fact that both person comprising such a couple are of the same sex."[1]
Polk County has appealed the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court, which could either decide to hear the case, refer it to the Iowa Court of Appeals, or let the original ruling stand without review.
| “ | That’s a win. It’s not a final win, because the case is being appealed. But just a few years ago if people were asked if we could get a judge in Iowa to strike down the exclusion from marriage, right there in the heartland, I think most people would have said we couldn’t. | ” |
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—Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry on the Polk County decision, [2] |
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Within two hours of the publication of the ruling on August 30, two men from Des Moines submitted an application for marriage to the county recorder; their application was accepted. The next morning, several couples were able to apply for marriage licenses before Judge Hanson issued a verbal stay of his ruling pending the county's appeal.[3][4] For the time being, same-sex civil marriages are no longer being performed in Iowa.
The first same sex couple to legally marry in Iowa were Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan, both residents of Ames and students at Iowa State University. Iowa marriage law requires a three-day waiting period between the initial application for a marriage license and the time the marriage becomes official, unless this waiting period is waived by a judge.[5] Fritz and McQuillan were the only couple to receive such a waiver before Hanson issued his stay order. After receiving the waiver and applying for a marriage license on the morning of August 31, the couple was married in a short ceremony that morning by a Unitarian Universalist minister on the minister's front lawn in Des Moines.[6]
Two other Ames residents who applied for a marriage license before the stay, Terry Lowman and Mark Kassis, were married on September 2 in a ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames.[7] However, because Lowman and Kassis' three-day waiting period was not waived, and because the stay was issued before the waiting period had expired, their marriage is not currently recognized by the state of Iowa.[5]
As a result of Hanson's ruling, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage was proposed in the state legislature but did not pass in 2008.[8] It will likely be reintroduced in 2009. However, even if approved in 2009, the Iowa Legislature must approve it again in 2011 before it can be on the ballot in Iowa.
[edit] See also
- Same-sex marriage in the United States
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
- Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Associated Press. "Judge Overturns Iowa Ban on Same-Sex Marriages", The New York Times, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Interview with Evan Wolfson, David Shankbone, September 30, 2007
- ^ Associated Press. "Iowa Gay Marriages Abruptly Halted", 365Gay.com, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Henderson, Kay. "Ruling briefly allows gay marriage in Iowa", Reuters, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ a b Simons, Abby. "Ruling applies in Polk, not to all of Iowa", Des Moines Register, 2007-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ Miller, Kyle. "A window of opportunity", Iowa State Daily, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ Laura Pieper and Luke Jennett. "Lucullan's owners set Sunday as wedding date", The Ames Tribune, 2007-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Linda Miller (10 March 2008). Funnel Week Survivors. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
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