Constitutional Law

Iowa High Court Considers Marriage Equality Case

The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. The case, Varnum v. Brien, centers on whether it is unconstitutional for Iowa officials to deny marriage rights to lesbians and gay men.

In 2005, the Polk County Recorder and Registrar denied six same-sex couples marriage licenses. The couples, with the help of Lambda Legal, lodged a lawsuit against Polk County arguing that denying them the right to marry violated their equal protection rights under the Iowa Constitution. In 2007, Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson agreed with the couples. That decision was put on hold, however, while Polk County appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

During today’s arguments, Assistant Polk County Attorney Roger Kuhle claimed that allowing same-sex couples to marry would severely undermine the institution of marriage, The Des Moines Register reported. “One could easily argue, and we do, that fostering same-sex marriage will harm the institution of marriage as we know it,” Kuhle said before the Iowa Supreme Court.  

Lambda Legal attorneys called Kuhle’s argument “highly speculative,” and asserted that preventing gay couples from marrying would violate their equal protection rights.

“In a powerful argument, we urged the court to breathe life into the promise of equality guaranteed in the Iowa Constitution,” stated Lambda Legal in a press release about the arguments. “Dennis Johnson, former Iowa Solicitor General, argued the case on behalf of our plaintiffs and underscored the fact that Iowa has a long, proud history of protecting individual rights, adding that the government must not stand in the way of loving individuals who want to take responsibility for each other and their families.”

Full post as published by ACS Blog on December 09, 2008 (boomark / email).