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 A court in Iowa has ruled that same sex couples can in fact marry based on the Iowa state constitution guarantee of equal treatment. Six same-sex couples brought the lawsuit in December 2005 after being denied marriage licenses, holding that the denial entails a violation of equal-protectction and due-process clauses in the Iowa state constitution.
This is an important ruling made amidst much anxiety over the issue of same-sex marriage in the United States. In the run-up to the election of nominees for the presidential election, many candidates have been asked to comment on the issue. Sen. Hilary Clinton at times avoids the issue altogether, yet at other times (when making speeches to gay-rights activists) claims to stand with the gay community. In contrast, Barack Obama merely believes a decision ought be made about gay marriage and that the constitution ought not be amended to oppose it. The Iowa court ruling will now go to the state's supreme court for a final ruling. This ruling follows that made in New Jersey which came to recognize same sex marriage in October 2006. More and more Americans believe the gay people cannot change their sexual orientation, which may explain the emergence of gay-marriage and domestic partnership legislation at a state level. For the moment federal law does not recognize gay marriage, which means that couples from different countries are often unable to live together and even see each other since they cannot attain the documentation required to reside, study and work in the United States for a substantial length of time. In contrast to the US, many western countries are pushing forward same-sex partnerships, which give citizens the exact same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, the UK being amongst the most recent. For the forums: - Is this an issue for the international political form rather than local politics? For example, do you think that the UK should encourage their allies to consider same-sex partnership legislation if they think that such partnerships are "human rights" (in the same way that the UK might argue that freedom is a human right)
- Gay Marriage vs. Domestic Partnerships! Does it make a difference what you call it?
- What do you think of the US presidential nominees and their performance on gay issues?
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