Iowa Supreme Court produced right call in gay marriage ruling

Our View

Article One, Section One of the Iowa Constitution says, “All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights—among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.”

In Section Six of that same article, it says, “All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the general assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or any class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens.”

A majority of us at The Tiger Hi-Line are ecstatic over the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Iowa Code section 595.2 which states that “Only a marriage between a male and a female is valid.” This historic decision has made Iowa the third state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry and the first state in the midwestern United States to legalize same-sex marriage.

In spite of the criticism that the decision has already drawn, those of us in favor of this decision believe that this has enabled all citizens of Iowa to be treated equally. The decision also upholds the promise that the Iowa Constitution makes guaranteeing all citizens equal rights and protection under the law.

We hope that as time goes on, the opponents of the ruling will see that allowing same-sex marriage to occur does not result in the end of the world.