Okay, so that marks twice in one week I’ve used a term I never use, but in this case, it’s warranted. The Supreme Court of Iowa has unanimously said that marriage is no longer limited to just a Man and a Woman. “The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution,” the justices said in a summary of their decision.
And why not?
Of course, this is going to bring out the ‘This dooms traditional marriage!’ Ah, traditional marriage, the bedrock of American society. If you overlook the divorces, child custody, and the $25 weekend hitching at Las Vegas.
Give it up. There’s nothing here that says a church has to open its door and allow gays to marry at the altar. This is purely legal. People, no matter who they are, deserve the same rights. They deserve the same tax breaks (or penalties). They deserve the right to visit a loved one on their death bed.
We Iowans, we’re damn good people.