Painter: ‘What it means to be married’

Same-sex couples continue to celebrate the first anniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages.

“Today we congratulate all those who are experiencing a new status as a married person in Iowa and throughout the country,” said Johnson County Recorder Kim Painter.

Painter knows personally, and professionally, the impact the change has had in Iowa.

Six years ago, Painter denied marriage licenses to several same-sex couples, saying she was obliged to uphold Iowa law.

Last April, Painter was among those who gathered on April 3 in the county Board of Supervisors room to hear the Supreme Court's historic ruling. She returned there on Tuesday morning for a OneIowa “One Year of Marriage Equality” news conference.

In the weeks after the Supreme Court ruling, Painter has approved dozens of same-sex marriage license requests in Johnson County.

According to the Iowa Department of Health, 1,783 same-sex marriages took place in Iowa in 2009.

One of those was Painter's marriage to her longtime partner, Jessica Kardon, on Sept. 2.

Painter said being married “makes a difference every day in a lot of ways.”

One of the biggest benefits of marriage, she said, came a few months ago when Jessica underwent a barrage of medical treatments. Painter said their relationship was understood by the physicians, surgeons and medical staff.

“I was her spouse,” Painter said. “I was in the proper place and everyone understood that. That's equality. That's the practical power of constitutional protection. That's what it means to be married.”