Way to go, Iowa!
This morning the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the state’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
From the ruling, via the New York Times:
Well said. Very well said. Today is one of those days when I feel proud to be an Iowan. I’m even wearing my lucky Iowa shirt so I can confidently represent the Hawkeye State.
I’m not gay so the ruling has no direct affect on me. However, it does have meaning. It reminds me of the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka that overturned school segregation laws in 1954, righting a wrong that had been an institutionalized practice and norm for too long. It is a well thought, educational, and logical ruling based on the fundamental foundations of the United States. The decision obviously has its detractors, and is sure to be challenged by the Nazi-esque element in this country, but it rightly asserts American principles of liberty, justice, and equality.
Each morning before fourth grade my elementary school classmates and I put a hand over our hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The words are burned in my memory, and the last ring a little more true today: “with Liberty and Justice for all.”
(Here’s an interesting fact I just learned: the Bellamy salute originally accompanied the Pledge of Allegiance. Francis Bellamy, the pledge’s author, supposedly based the salute on what many believe is an ancient Roman salute. However, the salute was adopted by not only Italian fascists but also the Nazis to salute Hitler. Franklin Roosevelt had the US Flag Code altered so the Bellamy salute was replaced with the familiar hand-over-the-heart gesture to avoid confusion and controversy.)
From the ruling, via the New York Times:
The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution…
Equal protection under the Iowa Constitution is essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike. Since territorial times, Iowa has given meaning to this constitutional provision, striking blows to slavery and segregation, and recognizing women’s rights. The court found the issue of same-sex marriage comes to it with the same importance as the landmark cases of the past.
Well said. Very well said. Today is one of those days when I feel proud to be an Iowan. I’m even wearing my lucky Iowa shirt so I can confidently represent the Hawkeye State.
I’m not gay so the ruling has no direct affect on me. However, it does have meaning. It reminds me of the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka that overturned school segregation laws in 1954, righting a wrong that had been an institutionalized practice and norm for too long. It is a well thought, educational, and logical ruling based on the fundamental foundations of the United States. The decision obviously has its detractors, and is sure to be challenged by the Nazi-esque element in this country, but it rightly asserts American principles of liberty, justice, and equality.
Each morning before fourth grade my elementary school classmates and I put a hand over our hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The words are burned in my memory, and the last ring a little more true today: “with Liberty and Justice for all.”
(Here’s an interesting fact I just learned: the Bellamy salute originally accompanied the Pledge of Allegiance. Francis Bellamy, the pledge’s author, supposedly based the salute on what many believe is an ancient Roman salute. However, the salute was adopted by not only Italian fascists but also the Nazis to salute Hitler. Franklin Roosevelt had the US Flag Code altered so the Bellamy salute was replaced with the familiar hand-over-the-heart gesture to avoid confusion and controversy.)
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