Aug

31

Way is cleared for same-sex marriage in Iowa

[From: Omaha World-Herald]

BY ELIZABETH AHLIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

COUNCIL BLUFFS — A judge’s decision to overturn Iowa’s law banning same-sex marriage was a victory almost two years in the making for one Council Bluffs couple.

bs040209.gifReva Evans, 33, and Ingrid Olson, 29, are one of six couples statewide who sued in December 2005 for the right to get married. Polk County District Judge Robert Hanson ruled Thursday that the law was unconstitutional.

“We’re just excited that the court made a decision that recognized that our family needs to be treated fairly and we deserve everything that all other couples are entitled to,” Olson said.

Evans and Olson, who said the fight isn’t over yet, met the decision with tempered joy.

They don’t have any immediate plans to get married. Olson was steeling herself for an appeal of the ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court.

“We’re anticipating being in this for the long haul,” she said.

Hanson directed the Polk County recorder to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Less than two hours after the ruling was publicized, two Des Moines men applied at the Polk County recorder’s office for a marriage license, and for the first time the application was accepted. The process of granting a license to marry in Iowa takes three days.

Gary Allen Seronko, 51, was listed as the groom and David Curtis Rethmeier, 29, the bride on the application.

“I started to cry because we so badly want to be able to be protected if something happens to one of us,” Rethmeier said.

Deputy Recorder Trish Umthun said she took five telephone calls from gay couples after the judge filed his ruling. Umthun said she told them they must bring a witness to sign documents.

The office is expecting a rush of applications this morning.

Nebraska voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage in 2000. It was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, but a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the ban in July 2006.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone requested a stay of Hanson’s ruling. If granted, that would prevent same-sex couples from seeking marriage licenses pending an appeal.

Marriage has taken on new meaning for Olson and Evans. When the lawsuit was filed, Evans said she wanted to protect her “future family.” Now the couple has a 14-month-old son, Jamison.

“Not only do we want to protect our relationship with each other, but it’s so important to protect my relationship with Jamison and our family,” Olson said. “We just want to protect Jamison just like all other couples want to protect their kids.”

Evans gave birth to Jamison, who has Olson’s last name. To secure parental rights, Olson adopted him.

The adoption process cost thousands of dollars, Olson said. If she and Evans were married, she said, they wouldn’t have to “pay for a lot of things that others take for granted.”

In his ruling, Hanson said the state law allowing marriage only between a man and a woman, passed in 1998, violates the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.

Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, issued a statement stating his opposition to gay marriage.

“While some Iowans may disagree on this issue, I personally believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” Culver said.

House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the ruling illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

“I can’t believe this is happening in Iowa,” he said. “I guarantee you there will be a vote on this issue come January.”

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