Judges lost jobs for protecting minorities

By far the most disappointing election result was the loss of Supreme Court Justices Marsha Ternus, David Baker and Michael Streit. The vote to remove them from the bench has no precedent in Iowa and strikes at the heart of our state's judiciary.

Perhaps the most important role of the courts in American society is to protect the rights of minorities from what President James Madison called the “tyranny of the majority.”

Courts exist to protect rights and freedoms even when they are unpopular. If the right of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people to marry were put up to a vote, like in California, it would be like Iowans voting on whether The Gazette has the right to freedom of the press.

The campaign of Bob Vander Plaats and other professional homophobes to unseat these justices sets an unfortunate precedent that may cause future justices to be less willing to protect the rights of minorities because they fear being voted out of office.

Hopefully, Iowans will think twice next time before voting out the protectors of our nation's rights and freedoms.

Bryant Conkling

Cedar Rapids