One Iowa is a statewide LGBTQ equality organization. The organization works to preserve and advance equality for LGBTQ individuals in Iowa through advocacy, grassroots efforts, and education.

Background

The organization was founded in November 2006 following the 2005 suit filed by

Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS ( PWAs) through imp ...

that led to the '' Varnum v. Brien'' suit. At first, the emphasis of the group was marriage equality, but soon after formation, a board of directors was established and efforts were increased to include

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

, LGBTQ families and aging. The organization is a member of the

Equality Federation Equality Federation is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organizations in the United States. History In 1997, a group of stat ...

Efforts

The organization has used the Internet and other grassroots methods to spread its message. It established a

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page, a

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page, and has a website at www.oneiowa.org. During ''Varnum'', the group contacted residents and urged them to contact their local officials. They also held forums in towns throughout Iowa that included LGBT community members, individuals from the religious establishment and legal scholars, where they emphasized the need for marriage equality. Following ''Varnum'', the group was lauded for its grassroots efforts by the

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

. However, the group's efforts also faced criticism. Congressman Steve King (R-IA) remarked that the state would become "a gay-marriage mecca" following the court's decision. But a One Iowa spokesman maintained that the group's efforts concerned "Iowa couples" and that it was not his intention to turn the state into a "sideshow." The organization has since worked to educate court recorders on how to "make sure gays and lesbian couples feel welcomed" when applying for a

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictio ...

, and have allowed for participants to choose from "bride," "groom" or "spouse" on the document. In coalition with its ally groups, One Iowa's achievements following ''Varnum'' also include defeating anti-marriage policies, modernizing Iowa’s HIV transmission law, urging Iowa Senators to stop blocking judicial nominees at the federal level, civil rights advocacy to protect the LGBT community against employment and housing discrimination. One Iowa's work also includes educating Iowans about why marriage matters to gay and lesbian couples, reaching out to communities of faith, addressing concerns about Iowa’s aging and elder LGBT populations, and improving access to resources for transgender Iowans.

References

External links

* {{LGBT in the United States LGBT political advocacy groups in Iowa Organizations established in 2006 Organizations based in Des Moines, Iowa Non-profit organizations based in Iowa 2006 establishments in Iowa Equality Federation

Background

Efforts

See also

References

External links