Profile in Courage Awards to Iowa Justices

In April 2009, all nine Iowa Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously that it was unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to same sex couples in the state of Iowa.

Opponents vowed retribution, and they got it.   In the November 2010 elections, three of those Justices, including the Chief Justice, were voted out of office.   Only those three were up for a retention vote, Iowa's method since 1962 of allowing the public to periodically vote to retain, or not, judges who are appointed rather than elected.  Other justices will face a retention vote at a later time, depending on their original appointment to the high court.

National anti-gay hate groups, including the National Organization for Marriage, the American Family Association, and the Family Research Council, spearheaded and funded the campaign to oust these judges.  As in the California Proposition 8 referendum, outside anti-gay forces and outside money flooded the state with false propaganda and lies about gay families and about the effects on children.    It is a truly despicable war being waged in the name of "preserving marriage."

In an interview with Frank Bruni of the  New York Times, former Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said:

“If these organizations are really worried about marriage, rather than being motivated by bigotry and hatred, then they would be going after the divorce laws. But they’re not.” 

Ternus was not herself a passionate advocate for the cause of gay rights, not does she follow what's happening in other states closely.  When she first heard the term "gay marriage," she had to ask "What's that?"   And that was not too long ago.

She laughs about the opposition calling her and the other justices "an arrogant elite" with a "radical political agenda."  Ternus comes from four generations of farmers, the oldest of six children who grew up on a corn and soybean farm with a wood-buring stove in the kitchen.  She describes herself as "just a judge from Iowa" who "tried to be fair."

In the first few hours of the deliberations among the nine justices, it quickly became apparent that none of them could see a way to square the marriage ban with the equal protection provision in the constitution.   They came to the "jaw-dropping" realization that they had a unanimous decision.  And that it would be momentous.

Just how momentous, and how courageous, was highlighted at ceremonies today at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in  Boston, where Carolyn Kennedy presented the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to the three justices who were voted out of office because of their courageous stand for human rights and fairness.

Ternus has thought a lot about what happened:  “The important thing . . . wasn’t us losing our jobs.  It’s what it represents about what people think of justice and the rule of law and constitutional rights.”  She is particularly concerned about the politicization of the judiciary.   “If people think that what happened here doesn’t influence other judges, they’re really naïve," she said.

I agree, although I'm less concerned in the long run about gay rights.    Acceptance is moving in the right direction, rather quickly as these things go.   But the corruption of money and outside hate groups influencing elections, elected officials, and now the judiciary in general is a serious problem in our society.

Ralph