Yesterday when I saw a tweet about the Supreme Court getting ready to rule on same-sex marriage, I thought it was talking about California and I was like, already?! Well, it’s Iowa, and they say yes! The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld a county judge’s ruling that the state law banning gay marriage was unconstitutional. Gay couples can apply for marriage licenses in Iowa beginning April 27. (Links: Des Moines Register coverage; Iowa Supreme Court opinion [summary, full].)
[Correction: I previously wrote April 24, but that happens to be a designated furlough day for the court system in Iowa, so the first day for license applications will be the next business day, Monday, April 27.]
In California we’re still waiting for our Supreme Court to decide on the challenge to Prop 8. It has ninety days from oral arguments (held March 5) to issue its decision, which means the deadline is now about sixty days out. I’m still hoping they do the right thing and restore marriage equality in our state.
(Photo: When Thom and I drove across the country to move out West in 2006, we hardly stopped in Iowa if at all. This is a photo I took of a welcome sign on the freeway past the state line. Who would’ve known that it would soon be a Midwestern beacon of equality?)