Iowa to allow same sex marriages

I predict a change in the Iowa state constitution. Until then:

“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.”

Great. More pushy gay farmers, demanding we bio-genetically engineer corn crops that come out in pink or chartreuse cornsilk. And faux ostrich boas and upholstery for the John Deere farming machines. Kittycat should be thrilled, though. There’ll definitely be a market for the WearMoa stuff out in Davenport, now :wink:

T.

then I guess i will take a pass on RAGBRAI this year.

…because you boycott states whose Supreme Court defends their constitution? Interesting.

Pretty reasonable definition of marriage if you ask me…

In short, for purposes of Iowa’s marriage laws, which are designed to bring a sense of order to the legal relationships of committed couples and their families in myriad ways, plaintiffs are similarly situated in every important respect, but for their sexual orientation.

“pink or chartreuse cornsilk”

I cast my vote for lavender. It’s the traditional color of gay liberation, and we already have purple corn, which is darned close.

Ha, ha, now that I’ve said that, you’ll never want to eat a purple corn chip again. :slight_smile:

Pedalsaurus,

Why do you hate freedom?

then I guess i will take a pass on RAGBRAI this year.

Welcome to our nightmare.

I cast my vote for lavender. It’s the traditional color of gay liberation, and we already have purple corn, which is darned close.

Ha, ha, now that I’ve said that, you’ll never want to eat a purple corn chip again. :slight_smile:

I’ve never had a corn chip other than white or yellow in color. What’s the big deal? They taste any different than the other types? As to refusing to shop or eat or otherwise unintentionally give some sort of “support” to the right to same-sex marriage, which only the courts in the several states seem to think is a right and not the majority of the citizens in any given state (see California and others for examples), I don’t see what boycotting a state or a people over the decisions of its judiciary is going to accomplish.

And why is it we invest ourselves in such an awesome, and ultimately fallacious, belief that these fellows really know what they’re doing? Is it a cultural thing here in the U.S. that lawyers and certain other professions are invested with a wisdom which we, the commonalty, just can’t ever possess? I myself find that to be so much bunk, but it’s a phenomenon, nonetheless. Anyway, it’ll be up to the people in Iowa, regardless of any sort of ruling from a court – which is answerable to the people through prescribed mechanisms – to ultimately decide this issue. If they accept that a right to same-sex marriage exists, than so much the better for them. If not, than the people of the state have spoken and the courts will accede to that reality.

My guess is Iowa is a reliably “progressive” community of like-minded individuals (at least, in the large college town areas, where everybody’s whipsmart and on top of things) and same-sex marriage will be the yawner of an issue it deserves to be.

T.

You know what, Stuart, I LIKE YOU. You’re not like the other
people, here, in the trailer park.

Oh, don’t go get me wrong. They’re fine people, they’re
good Americans. But they’re content to sit back, maybe
watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick
back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer. They’re good, fine people,
Stuart. But they don’t know … what the queers are doing
to the soil!

You know that Johnny Worker kid, the kid that delivers papers
in the neighborhood. He’s a fine kid. Some of the neighbors
say he smokes crack, but I don’t believe it.

Anyway, for his tenth birthday, all he wanted was a Burrow Owl.
Kept bugging his old man. “Dad, get me a burrow owl. I’ll never
ask for anything else as long as I live.” So the guy
breaks down and buys him a burrow owl.

Anyway, 10:30, the other night, I go out in my yard, and there’s
the Worker kid, looking up in the tree. I say, “What are
you looking for?” He says “I’m looking for my burrow owl.”
I say, “Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick. Everybody knows
the burrow owl lives. In a hole. In the ground. Why the hell do you
think they call it a burrow owl, anyway?” Now Stuart, do you
think a kid like that is going to know what the queers are
doing to the soil?

I first became aware of this about ten years ago, the summer
my oldest boy, Bill Jr. died. You know that carnival comes into
town every year? Well this year they came through with a ride
called The Mixer. The man said, “Keep your head, and arms, inside
the Mixer at all times.” But Bill Jr, he was a DAAAREDEVIL, just
like his old man. He was leaning out saying “Hey everybody,
Look at me! Look at me!” Pow! He was decapitated! They found
his head over by the snow cone concession.

A few days after that, I open up the mail. And there’s a pamphlet
in there. From Pueblo, Colorado, and it’s addressed to Bill, Jr.
And it’s entitled, “Do you know what the queers are doing to our
soil?”

Now, Stuart, if you look at the soil around any large US city where
there’s a large underground homosexual population. Des Moines, Iowa,
for an example. Look at the soil around Des Moines, Stuart.
You can’t build on it; you can’t grow anything in it. The government
says it’s due to poor farming. But I know what’s really going on,
Stuart. I know it’s the queers. They’re in it with the aliens.
They’re building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to
God.

You know what, Stuart, I like you. You’re not like the other
people, here in this trailer park

The Vermont legislature just approved a bill to legalize gay marriage. It is on the Governers desk now although he has said he would veto it.

I’m not sure that we do invest ourselves in that belief. I certainly don’t. We merely applaud them when they blindly do the right thing and freak out when they blindly do the wrong thing (From our own points of view of course)

That said, I would ask, why does so much of america invest itself in the ultimately fallacious belief that the Bible is invested with a wisdom which we, the commonalty do not posses? Why do we turn to it for guidance on issues such as how to treat gay people?

No approach to morality is perfect, but there are signs we as a species are trending towards getting better about it. Less slavery, less racism, less violent conflict over time, etc.

And why is it we invest ourselves in such an awesome, and ultimately fallacious, belief that these fellows really know what they’re doing? Is it a cultural thing here in the U.S. that lawyers and certain other professions are invested with a wisdom which we, the commonalty, just can’t ever possess?

Jen,

Why does the Govenor of Vermont hate freedom?

The Vermont legislature just approved a bill to legalize gay marriage. It is on the Governers desk now although he has said he would veto it.

You know what, Stuart, I like you. You’re not like the other people, here in this trailer park

You think that kind of homophobia exists in any significant amount today, or ever? I think not. The problem is, any sort of acceptance of the idea of homosexuality as being deserving of an extension of civil rights is anethema to a large part of the population in the United States. They really don’t see why a population which seems to be amongst the highest in income earning and in a great deal of the professions should be extended the same sort of protections that blacks and many other minorities literally gave their lives, in massive numbers, to get. They suffered solely because of the color of their skin, which is a benign genetic characteristic that a person can do absoutely nothing about.

Perhaps incorrectly, I’ll grant, a great many folks believe that homosexuality is a voluntary or at least “controllable” (I don’t make these terms up, I just try to explain them) behavior that many feel they shouldn’t have to accept. Now, don’t confuse the idea of “tolerance” – which we all MUST practice – with the idea of “acceptance” – which none of us, by virtue of the laws and our Constitution here in the U.S., MUST do.

I think this is where the gay rights movement runs off the rails, so to speak. Its constant refusal to understand the differences between tolerance and acceptance (for example) drove many people in California to turn down the idea of a right to same-sex marriage. It also set back the gays rights movement, among the common people, by at least ten years. Never mind that this movement hasn’t tried to convince most folks of the rightness of its central tenets. It rather has instead ran to the courts to force this acceptance upon people rather than to work to increase tolerance, which inevitably would lead to acceptance.

Maybe gays think time’s running out or they’re just too impatient to work through the people. But that disdain for the very folks they’re hoping to bring to their side has worked against the movement for a while now.

T.

Why do people, Gay or Straight, need the permission of the State to marry?

This is ultimately the true answer to this debate. Quit making the government involved in any way, in marriage.

In the meantime there are real pragmatic issues that gay couples face, and the easiest way to fix them is to make marriage between them legal.

Why do people, Gay or Straight, need the permission of the State to marry?

He’s Republican.

BK,

Allowing two people to do something that is ultimately a very private and personal decision isn’t forcing anything on anybody.

You have to make a very circuitous argument along the lines of “allowing gays to marry will encourage more gays which will corrupt our children in the eyes of God” to say otherwise.

I’m simply not buying that connection.

You know what, Stuart, I like you. You’re not like the other people, here in this trailer park

You think that kind of homophobia exists in any significant amount today, or ever? I think not. The problem is, any sort of acceptance of the idea of homosexuality as being deserving of an extension of civil rights is anethema to a large part of the population in the United States. They really don’t see why a population which seems to be amongst the highest in income earning and in a great deal of the professions should be extended the same sort of protections that blacks and many other minorities literally gave their lives, in massive numbers, to get. They suffered solely because of the color of their skin, which is a benign genetic characteristic that a person can do absoutely nothing about.

Perhaps incorrectly, I’ll grant, a great many folks believe that homosexuality is a voluntary or at least “controllable” (I don’t make these terms up, I just try to explain them) behavior that many feel they shouldn’t have to accept. Now, don’t confuse the idea of “tolerance” – which we all MUST practice – with the idea of “acceptance” – which none of us, by virtue of the laws and our Constitution here in the U.S., MUST do.

I think this is where the gay rights movement runs off the rails, so to speak. Its constant refusal to understand the differences between tolerance and acceptance (for example) drove many people in California to turn down the idea of a right to same-sex marriage. It also set back the gays rights movement, among the common people, by at least ten years. Never mind that this movement hasn’t tried to convince most folks of the rightness of its central tenets. It rather has instead ran to the courts to force this acceptance upon people rather than to work to increase tolerance, which inevitably would lead to acceptance.

Maybe gays think time’s running out or they’re just too impatient to work through the people. But that disdain for the very folks they’re hoping to bring to their side has worked against the movement for a while now.

T.

I’m a conservative. I’m a Republican. I want lower taxes and smaller government. I’m for state’s rights and less federal intervention. Yada, yada, yada…

But, for the love of Pete, WHO THE FUCK CARES IF GAYS GET TO MARRY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Seriously! You think hetero’s are doing it right? Nearly 50-fucking-percent of marriages end in divorce. Guess what, the hetero’s are fucking it up, not the homosexuals!!!

Good-gawd-almights, give me a fucking break! Give 'em a chance. Maybe they will actually give the union of marriage the respect it deserves!

Ok, off my soap-box. Flame away …

haha

what this guy said

I’m a conservative. I’m a Republican. I want lower taxes and smaller government. I’m for state’s rights and less federal intervention. Yada, yada, yada…

But, for the love of Pete, WHO THE FUCK CARES IF GAYS GET TO MARRY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Seriously! You think hetero’s are doing it right? Nearly 50-fucking-percent of marriages end in divorce. Guess what, the hetero’s are fucking it up, not the homosexuals!!!

Good-gawd-almights, give me a fucking break! Give 'em a chance. Maybe they will actually give the union of marriage the respect it deserves!

Ok, off my soap-box. Flame away …