Same-sex marriage in Iowa has been legally recognized since a decision of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

on April 3, 2009.

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 ...

s became available to same-sex couples on April 27. In 2005, six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa filed a lawsuit in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

. In 2007, the Polk County District Court ruled in favor of the couples in '' Varnum v. Brien''. On April 3, 2009, the

unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling, making

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

the third

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, after

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. Polling indicates that an overwhelming majority of Iowaians support same-sex marriage.

Background

In 1998, following court decisions on same-sex unions in other states that suggested that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the equal protection clause of a state constitution like Iowa's, Iowa legislators who hoped to avoid a similar court challenge tried without success to pass a statute to prohibit same-sex marriages.

''Varnum v. Brien''

Six same-sex couples in

represented 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 ...

sought the right to marry their same-sex partners in Iowa. They brought suit in 2005 arguing that denying them

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 ...

s violated the liberty and equal protection clauses of the State Constitution. Judge Robert Hanson of Polk County District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on August 30, 2007. The next morning, Hanson stayed his decision pending an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Within two hours after the district court published its ruling, two men from Des Moines submitted an application for

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

to the county recorder and their application was accepted. The next morning, several other couples applied for marriage licenses before Hanson issued his stay. Iowa marriage law requires a three-day waiting period between the initial application for a marriage license and the time the marriage becomes official, unless this waiting period is waived by a judge. Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan, residents of

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Ok ...

and students at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

, were the only couple to receive such a waiver before Hanson issued his stay. After receiving the waiver and applying for a marriage license on the morning of August 31, the couple was married in a short ceremony that morning by a

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister on the minister's front lawn in Des Moines. Two other Ames residents who applied for a marriage license before the stay, Terry Lowman and Mark Kassis, were married on September 2 in a ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. Lowman and Kassis' three-day waiting period was waived by a judge; however, Hanson's stay occurred before the couple was able to record the marriage license. However, it is legal opinion that the marriage is legal in Iowa. Upon appeal, a unanimous

affirmed Hanson's ruling in '' Varnum v. Brien'' on April 3, 2009. Using the standard known as intermediate scrutiny to evaluate the state's justifications for denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the court determined that denying a marriage licenses on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. Licenses were originally to be available 21 days after the ruling on April 24, but the availability of licenses was postponed until April 27 due to a Furlough day. Despite the ruling in ''Varnum'', the Iowa Department of Public Health had refused to recognize same-sex marriages when completing

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

and

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

s. On December 12, 2012, ruling in ''Buntemeyer v. Iowa DPH'', a state court ordered the department to list the names of two women, a married lesbian couple, on the death certificate of their

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

son. The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments that same day in the department's appeal of a decision in ''Gartner v. Newton'' that ordered it to enter the names of two women as parents on a birth certificate. On May 3, 2013, the court unanimously affirmed the lower court's ruling in ''Gartner'' and said that "By naming the nonbirthing spouse on the birth certificate of a married lesbian couple's child, the child is ensured support from that parent and the parent establishes fundamental legal rights at the moment of birth".

Judicial retention elections

On November 2, 2010, Iowa Supreme Court justices David L. Baker, Michael Streit and Marsha Ternus, who participated in the unanimous 2009 ruling that Iowa could not deny marriage licenses based on sexual orientation, were removed from office after judicial

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes ar ...

s. Their removal followed campaigning by groups opposed to same-sex marriage including the

National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposi ...

. The three judges did no campaigning on their own behalf, but were supported by numerous third parties. On November 6, 2012, Justice

David Wiggins David Wiggins (born 1933) is an English moral philosopher, metaphysician, and philosophical logician working especially on identity and issues in meta-ethics. Biography David Wiggins was born on 8 March 1933 in London, the son of Norman ...

won retention in an election, largely due to the fact that Iowa had reversed its opposition to same-sex marriage, now showing majority support.

Legislative proposals

State constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage were proposed several times in the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of ...

in the wake of the judicial rulings. To amend the Constitution of Iowa, two consecutive sessions of the Assembly would need to approve the amendment, after which it would be placed on the ballot for final approval by the Iowa electorate. An amendment was first proposed in 2008 but did not pass. The Assembly did not vote on a constitutional amendment in 2009, and Senate Majority Leader

Michael Gronstal Michael E. Gronstal (born January 29, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator who represented the 8th district in the Iowa Senate. He served from 1985 to 2017 and was the majority leader and chairman of the Rules and Administration committee. He was ...

said he would not allow one to be brought to the floor in 2010. In a joint press release with House Speaker Pat Murphy on April 3, 2009, Gronstal welcomed the court's decision, saying "When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today's events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency. Iowa has always been a leader in the area of civil rights."Iowa Supreme Court: Gay marriage ban illegal
, ''Southwest Iowa News'', April 3, 2009 Democratic leaders of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

and the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

during the 2009-2010 legislative session opposed a vote on an amendment. In the next session, debate on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Iowa attracted national news coverage after

Zach Wahls Zacharia Wahls (born July 15, 1991) is an Iowa state senator, and American LGBTQ+ activist and author. Early years Zach Wahls is the son of two lesbian women and was conceived using artificial insemination. He was born on July 15, 1991 to his b ...

, a college student and son of a lesbian couple, addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing on January 31, 2011. A video of his testimony posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

went viral. On February 1, 2011, with Republicans in a majority in the Iowa House, the House passed ''House Joint Resolution 6'' by a vote of 62–37. Democratic leaders promised to block debate in the Senate, which they did. Same-sex marriage could also have been banned by constitutional convention, which Iowa voters can initiate once a decade. On November 2, 2010, voters defeated a proposed constitutional convention by a 2–1 margin. In June 2015, former Iowa Supreme Court justices Michael Streit and David L. Baker, who participated in the unanimous ''Varnum'' ruling, expressed support for ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

''. Baker said, "I think it just shows that we were a little bit ahead of our time in anticipating this result", and Streit said, "I think all seven of us are very proud of what we did. Has marriage been lessened because of what we did? No, and in the U.S. all people will be able to enjoy the freedoms of America and be treated as equal citizens under our law". Streit and Baker were removed from their position as justices by Iowa voters in 2010, following a campaign by opponents of same-sex marriage. Reacting to the ''Obergefell'' ruling, Kate Varnum, plaintiff in ''Varnum'', said, "To think how far we've come in the past 10 years since we filed the lawsuit in Iowa - it's incredible". Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa f ...

said he was disappointed with ''Obergefell'' and called for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but acknowledged that such an amendment has virtually no chance of passing. In 2023, a group of Republican lawmakers introduced two bills to add a same-sex marriage ban to the Iowa Constitution and declare the ''

Respect for Marriage Act The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; ) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal gover ...

'', signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2022, inoperable in Iowa. The bills, which political experts and advocates widely considered unconstitutional, were not moved out of committee and died in March 2023.

Economic impact

A 2008 study from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

analyzed the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on Iowa's state budget. The study concluded that allowing same-sex couples to marry would result in a net gain of approximately $5.3 million each year for the state. This net impact would be the result of savings in expenditures on state means-tested public benefit programs and an increase in state income and sales tax revenue.

Marriage statistics

Between April 2009 and March 2010, 2,020 same-sex couples were married in Iowa, accounting for 10.1% of all marriages conducted in the state during that period. Only 815 couples were from Iowa, with the rest being from out of state, predominantly from neighboring

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. By June 26, 2015, the day the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', approximately 11,000 same-sex couples had married in Iowa,In six years prior to Friday's SCOTUS decision, more than 11,000 same-sex couples have wed in Iowa
'' The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)'', June 26, 2015 mostly in

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places * Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missou ...

, Scott,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Pottawattamie and

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

counties.

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Iowa , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 72% , align=center, 23% , align=center, 5% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 528 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 62% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 8% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 895 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 59% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 8% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 1,325 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 59% , align=center, 31% , align=center, 11% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 1,103 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 56% , align=center, 35% , align=center, 9% , -
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 2,359 likely voters , align=center, ± 2.2% , align=center, 53% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 14% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 2, 2014–January 4, 2015
, align=center, 681 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 57% , align=center, 37% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, February 20–23, 2014 , align=center, 869 voters , align=center, ± 3.3% , align=center, ''47%'' , align=center, 44% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, July 5–7, 2013 , align=center, 668 registered voters , align=center, ± 3.8% , align=center, ''46%'' , align=center, 45% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, February 1–3, 2013 , align=center, 846 voters , align=center, ? , align=center, ''46%'' , align=center, 43% , align=center, 11% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, August 19–21, 2011 , align=center, 798 voters , align=center, ± 3.5% , align=center, ''46%'' , align=center, 45% , align=center, 9% , -

References

External links

*
One year later, gay marriage repeal appears to be on backburner
''The Iowa Independent''. April 1, 2010. {{Same-sex marriage in the United States Iowa law

LGBT rights in Iowa 2009 in LGBT history 2009 in Iowa