YAY! Go Iowa!
Unanimous decision to uphold the ruling that the state ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.
And better yet, the ruling is written brilliantly, negating the argument that is a religious (only) intitution:
"Civil marriage in Iowa is the only gateway to an extensive legal structure that protects a married couple's relationship and family in and outside the state," Hanson ruled in Des Moines. "Iowa reserves an unparalleled array of rights, obligations and benefits to married couples and their families, privileging married couples as a financial and legal unit and stigmatizing same-sex couples."
Complete ruling is here:
http://www.iowacourts.gov/wfData/files/Varnum/07-1499.pdf
And better yet, the ruling is written brilliantly, negating the argument that is a religious (only) intitution:
"Civil marriage in Iowa is the only gateway to an extensive legal structure that protects a married couple's relationship and family in and outside the state," Hanson ruled in Des Moines. "Iowa reserves an unparalleled array of rights, obligations and benefits to married couples and their families, privileging married couples as a financial and legal unit and stigmatizing same-sex couples."
Complete ruling is here:
http://www.iowacourts.gov/wfData/files/Varnum/07-1499.pdf