DES MOINES, Iowa, (Reuters) – The Iowa Supreme Court cleared the way for gay marriage in the state yesterday by declaring a law that limits marriage to a man and a woman unconstitutional. The ruling makes Iowa the third U.S. state after Connecticut and Massachu-setts, and the first in the Midwest, to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Gay marriage was briefly legal in California, but voters repealed it in a November 2008 referendum, though efforts are under way to revive the issue.
The Iowa case, Varnum v. Brien, involved six same-sex couples who sued the Polk County Recorder of Deeds Timothy Brien in 2005 for refusing to grant them marriage licenses.
A county judge sided with the couples and the state supreme court affirmed that decision and declared the 1998 Iowa Defense of Marriage Act — which restricted marriage to one man and one woman — unconstitutional.
The key principle at the heart of the case was the doctrine of equal protection under the law, which the court said “is essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike.”
The court compared the right of same-sex couples to marry with historical precedents that struck down slavery and segregation and recognized women’s rights.
Susan Sommer, senior counsel with Lambda Legal in New York, which sued in the Iowa case, said a number of states, including New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, have “very active efforts” underway to pass gay marriage provisions.
