As we near the end of session, we wanted to share a 2013 legislative recap.
We saw the introduction of a number of troubling amendments in the Iowa House and Senate this year, including the outlandish House File 120, which would reduce the pay of Iowa Supreme Court justices involved in the unanimous 2009 Varnum v. Brien decision that extended the freedom to marry to gay and lesbian couples in the state.
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Statement:
May 13, 2013
Contact:
Matty Smith
O: 515.288.4019 x212
C: 701.320.1599
One Iowa Congratulates Minnesota in Historic Victory for Marriage Equality
“We proudly congratulate our neighbors to the north,” says One Iowa Executive Director Donna Red Wing
Today, the Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to extend the freedom to marry to gay and lesbian couples. Last Thursday, the Minnesota House voted 75-59 to approve a similar bill with bipartisan support. Minnesota is the third state to pass marriage in a week, following Rhode Island and Delaware. The following is a statement from One Iowa Executive Director Donna Red Wing:
“The great state of Minnesota joins Iowa and many others today by extending the freedom to marry to loving, committed gay and lesbian couples. Minnesota joins Iowa as only the second state to extend the freedom to marry in the Midwest, and the 12th nationwide.
“At One Iowa, we celebrate the remarkable and courageous journey Minnesotans have taken since voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment last November that would have excluded gay and lesbian couples from marriage. We applaud Minnesotans United for All Families, and the countless volunteers and staff that helped make today’s historic victory possible. We applaud the legislators from both sides of the aisle who stood up for all families. We proudly congratulate our neighbors to the north, and we look forward to seeing which state will be next to win the freedom to marry.” Continue reading
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from Lawyers.com.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on May 3 that the state must recognize children born to lesbian couples as having two parents on their birth certificate, ensuring full parental rights for both parents and equal treatment for gay and heterosexual couples.
Heather and Melissa Gartner, a lesbian couple, were legally married in Iowa in 2009 after the state’s “Defense of Marriage Act” was held unconstitutional. They had already wed via a civil commitment ceremony and gone through the tedious process of one parent formally adopting their first-born child, according to the opinion.
When Heather gave birth to their second child, Mackenzie, via the same anonymous sperm donor as for their first, Iowa’s Department of Public Health refused to list both women as parents on the birth certificate.
The department said that because Melissa was not Mackenzie’s genetic parent, it didn’t have to: “The system for registration of births in Iowa currently recognizes the biological and ‘gendered’ roles of ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ grounded in the biological fact that a child has one biological mother and one biological father,” it insisted.
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from the Daily Globe
ST. PAUL — Most debate about today’s historic Minnesota House vote to allow same-sex marriage centers on religious and moral issues, but money also slips into the discussion.
A UCLA Williams Institute analysis claims that allowing gay couples to marry would provide a $42 million economic boost in the first three years, with $27 million in the first year alone.
The report indicates that nearly half of the 10,000 Minnesota gay couples would marry in the first three years after allowed.
Minnesota would be the 12th state to allow gay marriage, after Delaware approved it this week. Each state has reported an economic gain after approving gay marriage.
In New York City alone, a $259 million influx was felt in the first year of same-sex marriage, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“Marriage equality has made our city more open, inclusive and free, and it has also helped to create jobs and support our economy,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
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from The Quad City Times.
DES MOINES — Gay rights advocates say the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling Friday on the side of a lesbian couple from Des Moines should “shut the door” on any further legal controversy over same-sex marriage in the state.
“I appreciate this issue has been part of the political debate, and I expect it may continue to be,” said Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal who represented MacKenzie Gartner and her married parents, Heather Martin Gartner and Melissa Gartner. “Legally, this court came down on the side of equality.”
The Gartners sued the Department of Public Health after the department refused to issue a birth certificate for MacKenzie that had both Heather and Melissa as parents, even though the couple was legally married at the time of MacKenzie’s birth.
In a 6-0 ruling written by Justice David Wiggins, the court held that excluding both parents from the birth certificate was a violation of the equal protection clause under the Iowa Constitution.
The court dismissed the Department of Public Health’s arguments that birth certificates need to reflect who the biological parents of a child are in order to keep accurate records for medical purposes.
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from The Daily Iowan.
The Iowa Supreme Court expanded on its landmark 2009 decision legalizing same-sex marriage last week by requiring a child’s birth certificate to include both parents’ names.
“These realities demonstrate that the disparate treatment of married lesbian couples is less effective and efficient, and that some other unarticulated reason, such as stereotype or prejudice, may explain the real objective of the state,” Justice David Wiggins wrote in the decision.
The Gartner v. Iowa Department of Public Health decision changes the previous stance of the state Health Department, which refused to issue birth certificates listing both parents in a lesbian marriage. The decision asked a lower district court to remove a temporary stoppage of requests to add names to certificates — formally providing a route to change the policy.
“We’re thrilled with the decision today, and once again, the Iowa Supreme Court guaranteed equal rights for all Iowans,” said Camilla Taylor of Lambda Legal and lead attorney for the Gartners. “The court said we meant what we said in Varnum. Equal is equal.”
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from KCRG.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – A group of University of Iowa students are attempting to break the record for longest group hug. The current record stands at 25 hours and 10 minutes. The group of eight students started hugging around noon on Friday.
“It took a lot of research and planning,” said Zach Heffernen, who organized the hug. “Everyone has to stay together.”
Heffernen is the president of UI’s Students for Human Rights organization. Huggers helped raise money for the LGBT advocacy group One Iowa to participate.
To succeed they’ll need to remain latched until shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday. Huggers are allowed five minute breaks every hour.
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from the Press-Citizen.
Eight University of Iowa students hope their public display of affection lands them in the history books.
They’re attempting to break the Guinness World Record for longest marathon group hug, which currently sits at 25 hours, zero minutes and 10 seconds. The huggers, gathered in two groups of four in the Iowa Memorial Union’s Main Lounge, kicked off their hug at 11:44 a.m. Friday, which means they’ll need to hold onto one another into Saturday afternoon.
Leila Mustafa, a UI sophomore studying sociology, said from her spot in the huddle Friday afternoon that 25 hours seems like a long time, but it’ll probably seem even longer by 5 a.m. Saturday morning.
“Those seven hours will be terrible,” she said.
The participants are collecting pledges for their mission, with proceeds going toward One Iowa, an activist group that supports LGBT equality in the state through grassroots efforts and education. The huggers collected donations before the hug began, with some working off pledges that increase as time progresses and additional donations will be collected throughout the event.
By Friday afternoon, the group had raised more than $1,000, said Zach Heffernen, president of Students for Human Rights and the event’s organizer.
To comply with Guinness’ regulations, the entire hug will be filmed. The event also will have two timekeepers and two witnesses.
“It’s pretty official,” Heffernen said, pointing to the red bowtie adhered to the neckline of his collared shirt as proof.
In accordance with the rules, each participant accumulates one five-minute break for every hour they spend hugging, Heffernen said. Those going for the non-marathon hug record, by contrast, do not get breaks under Guinness rules, he said.
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from Patch.
written by Donna Red Wing.
Four years ago, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of marriage for gay and lesbian couples in the historic Varnum v. Brien case. Since then, approximately 6,000 same-sex couples have gotten married in the state.
We assume that marriage means marriage. But because of the so-called “Iowa anomaly,” this hasn’t necessarily been the case with Iowa. Under Iowa law, a child born to a married couple is presumed the legitimate child of both spouses. Iowa, however, was the only state that offered comprehensive relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples but failed to respect the “parental presumption” in birth and death certificates of children. That is until today.
Today, we saw another unanimous decision from the Iowa Supreme Court in Gartner v. Newton, which ordered the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) to provide an accurate two-parent birth certificate to all children born to lesbian married parents in Iowa. This is a huge victory, particularly for plaintiffs Heather and Melissa Gartner. Their lawsuit, under the legal counsel of our friends at Lambda Legal, challenged the Iowa Department of Public Health’s refusal to issue an accurate birth certificate to Heather and Melissa’s daughter, MacKenzie, who Heather gave birth to in 2009.
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Statement
May 3, 2013
Contact:
Matty Smith
515.288.4019 x 212 (office)
matty@oneiowa.org
One Iowa congratulates Heather and Melissa Gartner in victorious win for Iowa families
Iowa Supreme Court orders Iowa Department of Public Health to provide accurate two-parent birth certificate to all children born to lesbian married parents
Heather Martin Gartner and Melissa Gartner are plaintiffs in Gartner v. Newton, a lawsuit challenging the Iowa Department of Public Health’s refusal to issue an accurate birth certificate to Heather and Melissa’s daughter MacKenzie that lists both parents. Heather and Melissa are married, and under Iowa law a child born to a married couple is presumed the legitimate child of both spouses. The case was last heard in December 2012 in front of the Iowa Supreme Court. After the District Court ruled in favor of the family’s petition to receive an accurate birth certificate that lists both mothers, the Iowa Department of Public Health appealed the decision all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Today, the Iowa Supreme Court released their opinion in Gartner v. Newton, ruling unanimously in favor of the Gartners and all children born to lesbian married parents.
The following is a statement from One Iowa Executive Director Donna Red Wing:
“One Iowa celebrates this unanimous decision from the Iowa Supreme Court today that finally makes clear that the Iowa Department of Public Health must respect MacKenzie’s family. We congratulate MacKenzie’s parents Heather and Melissa and their legal counsel, Lambda Legal, in this victorious win.
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