Iowa activists celebrate same-sex marriage bill

DES MOINES — Iowa LGBTQ activists last week celebrated the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, which offered federal protections for couples in same-sex and interracial marriage.

Keenan Crow, the policy and advocacy director for LGBTQ rights group One Iowa, said the bill helps provide certainty for couples already in legal same-sex marriages regardless of the future decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This means that folks who are legally married will be assured that their marriages are going to be recognized by the federal government, come what may from the courts,” Crow said. “This is the benefit of doing this in a statutory way rather than relying on the courts.”

The bill requires the federal government to recognize marriages regardless of the sex and race of the couple. It does not require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples — but that is required by the 2015 Supreme Court decision, which was narrowly passed on a 5-4 split.

The legislation was brought up after the Supreme Court’s decision this summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the federal right to an abortion. That right had been in place for five decades after the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

In his concurring opinion in the case, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court could revisit decisions made on similar legal grounds, including Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

“That’s why this piece of legislation is coming now,” Crow said. “I think this is really just about giving those families a sense of security, a sense of being able to plan their lives well out into the future without having to worry about the whims of this justice or that justice on the Supreme Court.”

How did Iowa’s delegation vote?

The final version of the bill passed Thursday in the U.S. House. In the House, 39 Republicans and all Democrats voted for the bill. Among those Republicans were two from Iowa, Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who joined Democrat Cindy Axne in voting for the measure. Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, of Iowa’s northwest 4th District, voted against the measure.

In the Senate, the measure passed 61-36 at the end of November, with 12 Republicans joining all but one Democrat (who missed the vote), in voting for the bill. Iowa Republican Joni Ernst voted for the bill, while Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley voted no, saying that he did not think same-sex and interracial marriages were at risk of being overturned, but he thought the bill put religious liberty at risk.

The bill was amended based on Republican input to clarify that religious organizations are not required to perform same-sex marriages.

C.J. Petersen, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Stonewall Caucus, the LGBTQ caucus of the state party, said the passage shows that support for marriage equality crosses party lines.

“I think it just reflects the changing country and the fact that a lot of Republicans have gay friends and family members that they love and care about,” he said. “I have Republican family members that stand up and proudly support my right to be married.

“It really means a lot that Senator Ernst and Representatives Hinson and Miller-Meeks came down on the right side of history, too,” he added.

Iowa court protects marriage equality

Iowa has recognized the right to same-sex marriage since 2009, when the state Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien made Iowa the third state to establish marriage equality.

Even without protection at the national level, that right would remain, and advocates said they have not seen much energy around overturning it. But, Crow noted, this year the court overturned a previous decision that established a fundamental right to an abortion, which the court had previously established in 2018.

“Are we nervous about that? Yes,” Crow said. “Does this federal law reduce some of that anxiety? I think, absolutely.”

Connie Ryan, executive director of the Iowa Interfaith Alliance, said she would be surprised if the Iowa Supreme Court took up the issue of marriage equality again.

“Certainly the court has become more conservative over the years, but I would be surprised if they would take up that issue and overrule a unanimous decision from 13 years ago,” she said.

Equality act needed, advocates say

Crow said while the bill was a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough — but the proposed Equality Act would.

The Equality Act is a bill proposed by congressional Democrats that would add sexual orientation, sex and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act, preventing discrimination on those grounds in employment, housing and other areas.

While Iowa’s civil rights code has those protections in place, there is no protection at the federal level.

“Folks still need to pass the Equality Act, and ensure that in every other area of life, not just marriage, that LGBTQ people can go about their lives,” Crow said.