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Saturday, January 29
Cold-hearted, Divisive Iowa State Senators Introduce Gay Marriage Ban
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 29 Jan 2005 05:21 PM CST
 Cold-hearted, Divisive Iowa State Senators Introduce Gay Marriage Ban
by Christina Butts
The new
legislative session has barely started and the remnant religious
far-right in the Iowa State Senate wants to begin divisive political
tactics instead of working for the future of the state. These tactics
are keeping Iowa from becoming an economic and socially
progressive state that will attract and retain business and young
adults. This type of game and tactic in a state that was proudly one of
the main 'free' states during the Underground Railroad harkens a step
back from Quaker-based liberty and freedoms for which our state's
Constitution has always stood. This seems to be strategically done the
week before Iowa Equality Day, February 3, for educating legislators on
LGBT civil/human rights issues, which will get positive media attention
and publicity. --Christina Butts
Thursday, January 27, 2005 -- Mason City Globe Gazette
GAY MARRIAGE BAN INTRODUCED, BUT UNLIKELY TO ADVANCE
By DAN GEARINO, Globe Des Moines Bureau
DES
MOINES - A state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage was
introduced by nine Republicans Wednesday in the Iowa Senate.
The
measure faces little chance of passage in a chamber tied 25-25 between
parties. A similar resolution fell short last year, a time when
Republicans held the majority.
"I still
feel the majority of Iowans think we need to keep marriage protected,"
said one of the co-sponsors, Sen. Bob Brunkhorst, R-Waverly.
The proposal would add the following sentence to the state constitution:
"Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in the state of Iowa."
Leaders
from both parties said before the session that hot-button social issues
would probably get little airing because of the even split between the
parties.
The
sponsors of the proposed amendment are the following Republican
senators: Jeff Angelo of Creston, Jerry Behn of Boone, Nancy Boettger
of Harlan, Brunkhorst, David Johnson of Ocheyedan, Jim Hahn of
Muscatine, Larry McKibben of Marshalltown, Paul McKinley of Chariton
and Jim Seymour of Woodbine.
Sunday, January 16
Solidarity Grows in Fight Over Gay Marriage Bans
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 16 Jan 2005 09:05 AM CST
 Solidarity Grows in Fight Over Gay Marriage Bans
MotherJones
by Tucker Foehl
(JAN 14) In a novel approach to contesting gay marriage bans, Reverend Michael
Ray and St. Thomas's Episcopal Church in New Haven, CT announced
yesterday that they will perform no marriage ceremonies at all. Even
though no gay couples have asked to be married there, Ray sent a letter
to the 115 families of the church informing them of the new strategy to
combat discrimination.
Ray noted that he could recommend other churches
but also asked couples "to postpone their marriage and stand in
solidarity with same-sex couples so they understand what it's like not
to have that privilege."
With the
fight over gay marriage bans sweeping the nation, most recently in Arizona and Virginia, this issue will continue to dominate domestic
debates in future elections and ballot initiatives.
Although St. Thomas
Church actions are unlikely to change the Episcopal Church's gay
marriage ban or significantly impact the overall debate, the increase
of solidarity does come at an important time for gay rights activists
and their supporters.
This week over twenty gay rights groups -
including the Log Cabin Republicans and Stonewall Democrats - issued a
statement that they work together in 2005 toward common goals and
collective action. In the statement they put forth a broad call for
support and emphasized the importance of solidarity efforts like
Reverend Ray's in the fight for equal rights:
"Even
the most vibrant, vital community can, over time, settle into a status
quo. A movement cannot. And the success of our movement is measured not
only in the hearts and minds we change, the allies we engage and the
civil rights we secure, but in the strength of our collective
commitment to the pursuit of enduring social, political and legal
change that moves us ever closer to true equality."
Thursday, January 13
Dubuque Makes Third Attempt to Protect Gays
by
Trish Nelson
on Thu 13 Jan 2005 06:36 AM CST
Dubuque Makes Third Attempt to Protect Gays
Advocate.com
Iowa town's ordinance protecting gays faces opposition
A
proposal to include sexual orientation as a protected characteristic in
Dubuque, Iowa's nondiscrimination code is being opposed by some
business and religious leaders.
The city council is scheduled to take an initial vote on the issue February
7. It's the third time the city's Human Rights Commission has tried to
include sexual orientation in the city's nondiscrimination code. The
council voted down similar proposals in 1988 and 1999. In the past
several months, the council has received several communications from
citizens who oppose the latest proposal…
Six Iowa
cities include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination codes.
They are Iowa City, Des Moines, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Ames, and
Davenport.
~~~
To find out more about who is coming out against this proposal, click here to read the entire story.
If you would like to take action in support of the proposal, write a letter to the editor at the Dubuque Telegraph Herald at thonline@wcinet.com.
 Do you like to write letters? Join your fellow Iowans in the fight against media bias. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
Wednesday, January 12
Iowa Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument Friday in Lesbian Civil Union Dissolution Case
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 12 Jan 2005 04:19 PM CST
 Iowa Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument Friday in Lesbian Civil Union Dissolution Case
Lambda Legal
What: Oral arguments in Alons et al v. Iowa District Court for Woodbury County.
When: Friday, January 14, at 9 a.m.
Where: Iowa Supreme Court, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa.
[Observers and supporters are welcome, but please no protesting and no signs.]
We will
urge the court to recognize that disapproval of gay couples doesn't
give these groups or individuals the right to interfere in other
people's personal lives.
(Des Moines, January 11, 2005)
-- In oral argument set for Friday, January 14, at 9 a.m. at the Iowa
Supreme Court, Lambda Legal and local organizations will fend off an
attack by antigay groups who seek to overturn a local court order
granting two Sioux City women's request to terminate their civil union.
"We will
urge the court to recognize that disapproval of gay couples doesn't
give these groups or individuals the right to interfere in other
people's personal lives," said Camilla Taylor, Staff Attorney in Lambda
Legal's Midwest Regional Office, who will argue the case on Friday.
"A judge
in his rightful authority has already addressed this matter. Iowa
judges regularly resolve a wide range of matters between couples who
live together, regardless of the status of their relationship or
whether they're married. A handful of legislators and others have
tried to insinuate themselves into this particular case because this
time it involves two lesbians."
The two
women filed papers to dissolve their civil union in August of 2003. The
judge in their case noted that he was simply resolving a legal matter
between a couple as the state's courts routinely do.
In
February of 2004, a group of state legislators, a congressman and a
northwest Iowa church filed a petition to be heard by the Iowa State
Supreme Court. They filed a lawsuit asserting that the judge, Jeffrey
Neary in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, lacked authority
to declare the rights of the two women and terminate their civil union,
and they asked the state high court to hear their case.
Lambda
Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief last June, signed by the Iowa
Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Community Center of Central Iowa, that urged the court to
throw the case out. The brief argued that none of the parties involved
in the challenge have legal standing to interfere in the case because
they aren't harmed in any way by Judge Neary's decision. The brief also
pointed out that Iowa law permits a court to terminate a civil union,
so that the members of the couple can move on with their lives with
certainty about their legal rights, plan financially and start new
families.
Friday's
oral argument will focus on whether these anti-gay groups and inviduals
have the right to interfere with the trial court's authority to provide
necessary relief to this lesbian couple. In November, Iowans voted to retain Judge Neary, despite aggressive efforts by antigay groups to unseat him.
Lambda
Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full
recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation,
education, and public policy work.
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