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SUMMARY: A judge in Polk County, Iowa, strikes down the state's ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional and orders marriage licenses for six same-sex couples.
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A Superior Court judge in Polk County, Iowa, ruled Thursday that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional and ordered the county to grant marriage licenses to six same-sex couples, the Des Moines Register reported.
The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson augurs "full equality for all Iowans, including gay and lesbian Iowans and their families," Lambda Legal attorney Camilla Taylor said in a statement.
"This is the first marriage case launched in the American Midwest and shows that fairness and equality for all are valued across our nation. The Iowa Constitution has lived up to its promises of equality for everyone," Taylor said.
The county is expected to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Thursday's ruling stems from a lawsuit, Varnum v. Brien, filed by the six couples in December 2005 after they were denied marriage licenses by clerks who cited Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act, passed by the state Legislature in 1998.
The couples were represented by Lambda and by Des Moines lawyer Dennis Johnson, who called the ruling "a moral victory for equal rights."
Johnson argued that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender. He said the 1998 law, in being enacted solely to prevent same-sex marriage, contradicts past rulings on civil rights and should be struck down, the Register reported.
He further argued that some case history in Iowa suggests that marriage is a fundamental right and therefore the state can't choose whom someone can or cannot marry, the paper said. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)
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This is why they should amend the Constitution, so liberal activist judges like this idiot can't thwart the will of the people and waste the Court's time.
~Alistair
tina kamal Member # 13845
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yes and 2 hrs later the court ordered there is to be no more gay marriages here in iowa hahahaha only 1 couple got married i said sucks to be gay today
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