A SMALL VICTORY FOR GAY RIGHTS IN IOWA, MAYBE

COMMENTARY

SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE RIGHTS

Those of us on the embattled left side of the "cultural wars" of the past forty or so years have had few enough occasions to cheer, even momentarily. Thus, the very recent decision during the week of August 28, 2007 by a state judge in Des Moines Iowa, of all places, declaring an Iowa statue banning gay marriage unconstitutional gives us a moment’s breathing space. Legally, that decision is not as good as overturning a constitutional amendment but we will take whatever we can. In the aftermath of the decision apparently every gay and lesbian couple that had not abandoned the Iowa heartland for either of the more congenial coasts and could get to Des Moines with the required $35 marriage license fee sought to do so. But alas, remember this is Iowa after all, that same judge placed a stay on his ruling thus halting the issuance of marriage licenses pending appellate action to the Iowa Supreme Court. If that court does not act one way or another, which is unlikely, then the judge’s ruling stands.

Naturally, as the presidential nomination contests heat up and focus on the early Iowa caucuses, the ramifications of this decision were immediately felt in the various presidential campaigns. On the Republican side- ‘home’ of family values where marriage means heterosexual one male, one female ones- the outrage and easy scoring points were immediate by the likes of ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt “Flip-Flop” Romney. The more equivocal leading Democratic candidates, like Hillary and Obama, who virtually all support some form of ‘civil union’ or other less than legal marriage status as their stunted interpretation of democratic equal rights for gays and lesbians are going to feel the heat on this a little. They will try to juggle to be able to pander to the not inconsiderable gay and lesbian vote while keeping an eye on the fact that the polls (and past concrete state votes for banning gay marriage where the issue has been presented ) show that most Americans are hostile or otherwise unsupportive to gay marriage. The bourgeois Democratic party candidates may be equivocal on this issue but we of the left are not. Unfortunately, in the year 2007 it is still necessary to fight around the slogan- Equal Marriage Rights for Gays and Lesbians. That is where our fight is.