Huge news for all of us fans of equality out of Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the statute banning same-sex marriage is an unconstitutional violation of equal protection. For all us dorky lawyer-types out there interested in the nitty-gritty reasoning, the full opinion can be found here.
This is obviously a big day, as Iowa joins Massachusetts and Connecticut as the third state where gay marriage is legal (obviously everyone knows about the bizarro situation in California, so I personally don't count them).
Now, from what I understand from reading the amendment procedures of the IA constitution, a constitutional amendment in Iowa goes by roughly the same procedure as Massachusetts. Both houses of the current legislature would have to approve an amendment by majority vote, then both houses would have to approve it again in the next legislature (the one elected in 2010), and then it would have to be approved by referendum. If anyone knows this to be an incorrect assessment, please let me know.
Obviously, because of this procedure, same-sex marriage is going to stay legal for at least the next 2-3, and I would be skeptical about an anti-gay marriage amendments chances at all, considering that the Iowa Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader have issued a joint statement commending the ruling.
But I know I will be toasting this tonight for sure!
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