The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in Iowa. This historic decision fulfills the Iowa Constitution's promises of liberty and equality. We are so proud of the courageous plaintiffs and their families who stood up for love, dignity and equal treatment under the law.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the fourth state high court to rule that excluding same–sex couples from civil marriage is unconstitutional, after Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. In their powerful unanimous decision, Justice Cady wrote:
"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."
Lambda Legal filed this case in 2005 on behalf of six same–sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, and on behalf of three of their children. Dawn and Jen BarbouRoske of Iowa City are one of our wonderful plaintiff couples. They have been together more than 18 years and have two children, McKinley and Breeanna. After Jen delivered McKinley eight weeks early, they realized that Dawn could be prevented from being with their daughter in the hospital because she was not legally related to either Jen or the baby. Because they were not married, they had to leave their daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital to seek the help of an attorney. This experience drives home just how important it is to be able to marry.
