4-03-09, 11:18 am

Original source: Pride at Work

In a unanimous ruling today, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 2007 lower court ruling that a 1998 law banning same-sex unions was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the 1998 law violated the equal protection clause in the Iowa Constitution.

The ruling makes Iowa the third state in the nation to legalize civil marriage between same-sex spouses. Massachusetts and Connecticut are the others.

'We are thrilled that the Iowa Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Iowans is unconstitutional and an affront to the rights of all Iowans,' said T Santora, Co-President of Pride At Work.

'Pride At Work looks forward to working with the Iowa labor movement to continue to raise its collective voice for justice for all workers, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers, who face a gauntlet of unequal workplace and family benefits due to our lack of access to the institution of marriage.'

Right-wing forces will likely try to bring the issue up again via a constitutional amendment. The constitutional amendment process takes three-steps: approval from two consecutive legislative sessions and then a public vote. The earliest an amendment could be on the ballot would be in 2012.