go iowa

(Not straw polls, silly. Homos.)

Great entry about the Iowa judge who ruled that anti-gay marriage laws are unconstitutional. For those of you philosophically opposed to clicking on the link:

...he applied the U.S. and Iowa constitutions to same sex couples precisely as worded.

The Iowa Constitution states, "The general assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens."

That echoes the substance of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which holds that no state may deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Note that neither document says equal protection of the law only applies to popular parties, or to those whose lifestyle is approved of by the majority. It applies to everyone, equally. Anything else is legislated discrimination.

In response to religious arguments against the judge's ruling:

Some opponents say this is an example of the country turning its back on its Christian traditions. But that is a false assertion. The United States is not a Christian nation, and never was intended to be one.

For proof, look no further than the Treaty of Tripoli, which became the law of the land in 1797, eight years after the Constitution became effective. President John Adams, with the unanimous support of the Senate, signed the treaty, which stated in part "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

...religion ought to have no impact on the law, just as the law ought to have no impact on ...religion. That's what the First Amendment says, in plain language. And it's what Americans, religious and secular alike, hold dear about our system of government.

I'm so damn proud of Iowa.