A little good news this morning.
Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down Iowa’s prohibition on same-sex marriage Thursday.
In his 63-page decision, Hanson wrote that the statute excluding same-sex couples from marriage “violates Plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights for the aforementioned reasons including, but not limited to, the absence of a rational relationship to the achievement of any legitimate governmental interest.” Therefore the law is “unconstitutional and invalid.”
The case was filed by civil rights group Lambda Legal on behalf of six same-sex couples and their families. Each couple was denied a marriage license from Polk County officials on the grounds that they did not meet the gender requirements according to Iowa law.
Plaintiffs argued in court that the gender requirements violate the Iowa Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process and that they inhibit the couples from taking care of each other and their families.
Next step, Iowa Supreme Court.
