More equality wins

There were a few equality wins recently:

In DE House Bill 27 (HB27) was defeated. This bill was basically overkill, as it is already illegal for gays to marry in DE. Advocates of the bill claimed they were worried that judicial interference could overturn the state's existing ban on gay marriages. But as attorney and head of the local ACLU said on the floor, if there were legal grounds to overturn the ban on gay marriage in the courts, she would have tried already since she is gay.

Also in DE House Bill 5 (HB5) passed. This bill bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. New rules have advocates hopeful this bill will actually get a committee hearing instead of dying on conservative's desks, as has happened before. More about HB27 & HB5 can be found here.

But the big one is: The IA Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling today finding that the state’s same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making Iowa the third state where marriage is legal. The ruling will strike the language "only between a man a woman" from Iowa marriage code. The story can be found here and here.

I love what an online reader of the article wrote in the comment section:
"The founding document of our country says all of us are equal with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The purpose of government is to secure those rights. The history of our country can be understood as fulfilling that promise of equality first to black men, then to all women, and now to people who are in same gender relationships. What the Iowa Supreme Court did today is one more step in making real the guarantee of equality for all human beings."

Amen.

Crush du Jour: Jason Borish