Iowa becomes the third state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage, after Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Friday's decision upheld a 2007 ruling by a lower court that Iowa's 1998 law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples went against the state's constitution. It becomes effective in 21 days.
"This is a great day for civil rights in Iowa," said attorney Dennis Johnson, a co-counsel with Lambda Legal, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking to marry in Iowa. "Go get married. Live happily ever after," he said at a news conference where there was loud clapping among plaintiffs.
This came out of left field for me, and I'll be blunt, I hadn't expected it. It was wonderful news to wake up to, that's for certain.
Iowa: "Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain"
Amen.
