Hooray for Iowa!

[Jessi]

What a strange subject line!

My sister is Dean of Students at Cornell College in Iowa... and for anyone who has ever been to Iowa, I'm sure you all know there's not a whole lot there but corn and fields xD Lindsey and I drive through Iowa several times a year, we can vouch for this. But right now, Iowa is at the top of my list for amazing states.

My sister just sent me an e-mail saying that Iowa's supreme court ruled today that the Iowa ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional! That means that Iowa is the next state in the US to have legalized gay marriage!

For many obvious reasons, this thrills me. I think the biggest reason it does, however, is because Iowa is NOT the next state I'm sure people thought would legalize gay marriage. It's the first state in the Midwest to have it legalized, and it's just such a huge step forward! So, HOORAY FOR IOWA!

[Wingsrising]

Go, Iowa! I bet they'll be a lot of people talking about this in church this Sunday, assuming I get up early enough to go. (I'm a Unitarian, so it will be happy talk.)

Aside: It's not true that there isn't anything but corn in Iowa. We also have soybeans.

[Jessi]

XD Hee, Wings, that's true. We do pass plenty of soybeans xD

My sister's also a Unitarian, haha, so I'm sure she'll have a great time in church this weekend as well xD

[hebdenhippy]

Hurray! That's great news, I don't live the USA but I'm always happy to hear good news like this. Hopefully it won't be long before it's legal in every state

[Fjorab_Teke]

...and I was raised Unitarian, so haha! Weird how like-minded people seem to have flocked here!

And I was a bit like, "Iowa? IOWA?? Really? Wow, YAY!!"

My favorite Presbyterian minister was actually the one who I saw post about it first. He's a fun guy, a very irreverent reverend.

I posted a while back in my journal that I actually am starting to feel sorry for the religiously conservative majority in the southeast USA. They're really finding fewer places to turn, if something were to happen to make the USA overall "uninhabitable to their sensibilities." Even most of the European countries from which people fled to the USA to escape religious and social persecution are now swinging to what the USA would consider very liberal. To be honest, now the American liberals have "more places to escape" if we find the social/religious atmosphere unbearable - even back to the original persecuted places. I pondered half-jokingly that maybe the south should have seceded in the first place, and I think they really would have if they had known that in the future [[Iowa]] was going to say that [[banning homosexual marriages]] is unconstitutional.

[Alicorn]

Oh that's so great! Go Iowa! I hope other states follow in their footsteps. It'll probably take awhile for them to follow. But it'll be worth the wait in the end.

[Joey]

This makes me feel really warm and fuzzy. I've been thinking loads on the subject recently because of school; I wrote a 6 page essay on it and will most likely write my final research report on it as well. Now lets hope California can get their asses in gear and overturn prop 8.

[Fjorab_Teke]

Yeah, no love here for Prop h8. I'm not so much against people saying their religious beliefs prevent them from accepting homosexuality, and I don't expect all churches to perform the weddings, but it doesn't mean there should be laws preventing consenting people who love each other to marry based on something that only has religious (and thus ~thankfully now-diminishing~ social) barriers.

And I just now noticed that you're from Iowa, Wings. So Iowa certainly can't be that bad a place. I shall have to make a point to visit the state one day.

Do you actually have a UU church you attend where you live, as seems to be the case of your response? Sometimes it's surprising which places have UU churches and which ones don't.

[Wingsrising]

And I just now noticed that you're from Iowa, Wings. So Iowa certainly can't be that bad a place. I shall have to make a point to visit the state one day.

Do you actually have a UU church you attend where you live, as seems to be the case of your response? Sometimes it's surprising which places have UU churches and which ones don't.

Well, actually, I'm from Colorado (followed by NJ, followed by NC). I just moved to Iowa last fall.

So far it seems pretty nice, except for how cold the winters are. It's especially nice for corn or soybean fans.

Yep, we sure do have a UU fellowship in Ames. (Although I admit this is the first time I've dragged my lazy butt out of bed early enough to attend in several weeks.) I don't know if it's that surprising, given that this is a college town. We Unitarians are everywhere. Today Iowa, tomorrow the world! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.

[EofS]

Even most of the European countries from which people fled to the USA to escape religious and social persecution are now swinging to what the USA would consider very liberal.

In fairness, some of them left because we wouldn't practice their specific brand of religious persecution :0P

But I think this is amazing news for Iowa, and the precedent it sends in general. And now Vermont too!

[Fjorab_Teke]

Indeedily. Vermont really needs to quit tempting me to move away from my beloved home...a place mostly populated with "Southern Baptists" and "Catholics" of the stereotypical kind. Thankfully there's an increasing current of socially liberal people here. But alas Tennessee was one of the states that had a vote that brought up a ban. This is the same state that didn't vote for Al Gore, who was FROM Tennessee. Bassakards.

[KauKrazy]

Even most of the European countries from which people fled to the USA to escape religious and social persecution are now swinging to what the USA would consider very liberal.

I wish it were so. Sadly, there are still many countries which I think are swinging to the opposite direction. Read this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8150616.stm

I am ashamed to say that after this news was printed in Estonian news papers a few weeks ago, thousands of people said: "Way to go Lithuania! They finally have done something about the huge problem of gay people saying they are normal and wish to be treated as equals! They should not be allowed to make their sick views public and talk about them! We should have that law too!"

There was also a poll here just a few days ago and only something like 18% of the voters said that they think gay marriages would be OK. About 50% said "Under no circumstances" and the rest said they don't care much either way because they never will meet any gay person and thus it isn't an issue they care about. Our Ministry of Social Affairs published an analysis last week, about the different ways the gay marriage problem could be solved in the new revision of the family law. One of the options is of course to permit them, and many people said that if that will become a reality, they would not respect the government any more, as no normal government could ever allow such a thing.

Geez... I have no idea how most people can be so ignorant and stupid. And most people here aren't even Catholics like in Lithuania and concider themselves to be very open-minded and liberal.