http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... S/90403010
The ruling is not up for appeal, and the legislative avenue for turning this back will be difficult and time consuming, with no possibility for a voter recall until 2012.
Questions for debate:
1) How much does this bolster the case in the U.S. agains gay marriage bans?
2) Is this a blip, or a signal of the tide turning?
A couple of snippets from the judges:
Fridays decision also addressed what it called the religious undercurrent propelling the same-sex marriage debate and said judges must remain outside the fray.
Our constitution does not permit any branch of government to resolve these types of religious debates and entrusts to courts the task of ensuring that government avoids them, Cady wrote.
This approach does not disrespect or denigrate the religious views of many Iowans who may strongly believe in marriage as a dual-gender union, but considers, as we must, only the constitutional rights of all people, as expressed by the promise of equal protection for all.
I will try to post a link to the full decision. As another question for debate, we could consider the quality of this decision. Is this "judicial activism run amok" or is this another "Brown versus Board of Ed" ruling in which the judiciary stands up for minority rights that the majority is unwilling to bestow?
