Marriage skipped the political process

Iowa law professor John Whiston describes the Iowa Supreme Court's creation of a right to homosexual marriage “a moderate, even a conservative ruling.” Only a law professor could come up with a statement so intellectually challenging or intellectually challenged (take your pick).

The issue is not same-sex marriage. The issue is whether the right to such should have continued to be debated among the people and then decided by the electorate through the democratic process or whether a panel of a few lawyers (i.e., the Iowa Supreme Court) should pre-empt that debate, short-circuit the democratic process, and take that decision away from the people.

It is without doubt unfortunate and unsettling that the judiciary should become politicized by any campaign to remove judges for the decisions they make. But in this instance, the Iowa Supreme Court itself can be blamed for this uprising by arrogating to itself the power to make a decision on a significant and deeply-felt issue that was being openly debated and decided by the people.

The Court has politicized itself by making a decision that should have been left to the political process.

Larry Blades

Iowa City