In 2009, the Iowa State Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage. Since the verdict on Varnum vs. Brien was issued, three new judges, all Republicans, all male, were appointed by Gov. Terry Brandstad 2.0 in 2011 (he also appointed Chief Justice Mark Cady in 1998); the other judges are all male, all Democrat, and all appointed by Gov. Tom Vilsack. Despite the rightward shift of the Court, four justices—three of them Democrats, to reiterate—who decided that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional ruled that a dentist could legally fire an employee because he found her to be “irresistibly attractive.”   

11:18 am  •  22 December 2012  •  5 notes