Same-sex marriage in Iowa

They brought suit in 2005 arguing that denying them marriage licenses violated the liberty and equal protection clauses of the State Constitution.

[8] Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan, residents of Ames and students at Iowa State University, were the only couple to receive such a waiver before Hanson issued his stay.

[11] Lowman and Kassis' three-day waiting period was waived by a judge; however, Hanson's stay occurred before the couple was able to record the marriage license.

[13] Despite the ruling in Varnum, the Iowa Department of Public Health had refused to recognize same-sex marriages when completing birth and death certificates.

[14] The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments that same day in the department's appeal of a decision in Gartner v. Newton that ordered it to enter the names of two women as parents on a birth certificate.

[19] On November 6, 2012, Justice David Wiggins won retention in an election, largely due to the fact that Iowa had reversed its opposition to same-sex marriage, now showing majority support.

[20] In June 2015, Streit and Baker expressed support for Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the United States.

[21] State constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage were proposed several times in the Iowa General Assembly in the wake of the judicial rulings.

[23] In a joint press release with House Speaker Pat Murphy on April 3, 2009, Gronstal welcomed the court's decision, saying, "When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today's events will be why it took us so long.

[25] In the next session, debate on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Iowa attracted national news coverage after Zach Wahls, a college student and son of a lesbian couple, addressed the House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing on January 31, 2011.

"[32] While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in Native American cultures, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.

Many of these cultures recognized two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere.

[33] Sauk two-spirit individuals, known as nîshwi manetôwaki,[34] characterized their gender role change as "an unfortunate destiny which they cannot avoid, being supposed to be impelled to this course by a vision from the female spirit that resides in the Moon."

[33] A 2008 study from the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on Iowa's state budget.