OUR VIEW: Legislature should focus on issues, not culture wars
This week, State Sen. Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Black Hawk County, introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
It's a stunningly ignorant resolution that claims the court exceeded its powers by creating a law and seeks to "restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman."
The Supreme Court did not "create" a law with its decision. It found that state bans on same-sex marriage violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The decision didn't invent a new right, it recognized that LGBTQ+ individuals have had the right to marry since the amendment was ratified.
People are entitled to their personal beliefs. They can oppose gay marriage. They can view LGBTQ+ individuals as sinners. They can decline to attend a gay wedding. But they don't get to decide which Americans deserve constitutional rights. That's not how liberty works.
"Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain." That's Iowa's motto.
Iowa's marketing campaign tells the world this is a state with "Freedom to Flourish." But who is allowed that freedom? Whose liberties does the Legislature prize? Whose rights is it maintaining?
If Salmon's resolution gains support, it won't change the law. It's symbolic — but symbols matter. They send messages to real people, to real Iowans.
This state was once a leader in equality. In the 1800s, Iowa was among the first to ban school segregation, create education programs for the blind and developmentally disabled, admit a Black man to the bar, grant women the right to vote in local elections, and offer women equal access to higher education.
In the 1960s, we passed our own civil rights act — then strengthened it in 2007 to protect Iowans based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2009, our Supreme Court made us one of the first states to recognize same-sex marriage.
We were ahead of the curve. Now, we're sprinting backward.
A few weeks ago, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill removing gender identity as a protected class from Iowa's civil rights code. Our state Rep. Hans Wilz defended his support of the bill, saying it brought "clarity" on issues surrounding sex and gender "for the purposes of statutory construction." The only clarity it brought is this: Transgender people in Iowa can now be legally discriminated against.
If lawmakers adopt Salmon's resolution, the message from the Statehouse will grow louder: If you're gay or trans, Iowa isn't for you.
We absolutely reject that vision for Iowa.
There are real problems facing Iowans: Rising utility bills, property taxes that erode the accomplishment of homeownership, schools that no longer lead the nation, crumbling infrastructure, ballooning cancer rates, a slowing economy, and a looming budget deficit. Those are the fights our Legislature should be waging. We do not have time for manufactured culture wars aimed at scapegoating marginalized people.
Absolutely none of Iowa's current challenges are the result of expanding rights. Inclusion didn't break our state, but the priorities of this Legislature just might.
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