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This is a great day for those, like me, who think that the bans these states are doing on same-sex marriage is a travesty, since they don’t offer any equivalent, like civil unions.

The Iowa Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that a 1998 state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman is an unconstitutional violation of equal protection guarantees. Today’s decision is the first to open the door for legal same-sex marriage in a Midwestern state.

The lawsuit was filed by twelve Polk County, Iowa residents who make up six same-sex couples. In its unanimous decision, the Iowa Supreme Court declared that “[Polk] County has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification for excluding plaintiffs from the institution of civil marriage,” and concluded that therefore “the Iowa marriage statute violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.”

The New York Times reports that today’s action by Iowa’s top court is monumental not just for what took place, but where: “While the same-sex marriage debate has played out on both coasts, the Midwest — where no states had permitted same-sex marriage — was seen as entirely different. In the past, at least six states in the Midwest were among those around the country that adopted amendments to their state constitutions banning same-sex marriage.”

This is especially huge, because it’s in the Midwest; a traditionally modest state and frankly the LAST place I’d expect to see a ban overturned! Now, that’s not to say that another attempt at banning won’t be brought before the voters in the future, but caselaw has shown us that anyone who gets married between now and that time won’t have to worry about their marriages being annulled, thanks to ban on ex post facto laws.

*UPDATE*
Well, it didn’t take long for the true colors of a Republican asshat in Iowa to come out.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) reacted with fury to the Court’s decision, calling the ruling “unconstitutional” and denigrating the “activist judges” who decided it. He called for an constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and pressed for immediate action to prevent Iowa from becoming a “Mecca” for gay couples:

Now it is the Iowa legislature’s responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, clarifying that marriage is between one man and one woman, to give the power that the Supreme Court has arrogated to itself back to the people of Iowa. Along with a constitutional amendment, the legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court’s latest experiment in social engineering.

It seems that the Christian right in this country won’t be happy until everyone is repressed, except for Christians. I can’t wait until the day comes when one of these morons isn’t happy with a state supreme court decision and requests certiorari from the US Supreme Court; they will, of course, rule any such law/act to be unconstitutional and then the law of the land will reflect as such. For a country that claims to be ‘free’ and embrace all people, there certainly are a bunch of racist, sexist and homophobic assholes running the show.

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