Iowa Governor Will Respect Supreme Court on Same-Sex Marriage

Iowa Governor Chet Culver is not inclined to support amending the state's constitution to reverse the Supreme Court's unanimous decision striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Culver made his opinion known in a lengthy statement released late yesterday. Culver was under pressure from religious right conservatives like Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Council to support efforts and had not weighed in on the issue days after the decision was handed down.

KSDK reports: "Culver made his statement hours after a Republican candidate forgovernor, Bob Vander Plaats, criticized the governor for not being moreclear about where he stood on the gay marriage ruling."

In the past, Culver has expressed his personal opposition to same-sex marriage but indicated that he was waiting to hear from the Court before taking a political stand.

Said Culver, in his statement: "As Governor, I must respect the authority of the Iowa Supreme Court,and have a duty to uphold the Constitution of the State of Iowa. I alsofully respect the right of all Iowans to live under the full protectionof Iowa’s Constitution. I urge Iowans who hold beliefs on all sides of this issue to exhibitrespect and good will. Our state faces many serious challenges. We arein the midst of a serious economic recession. Tens of thousands of ourfellow Iowans are without work. We have suffered the worst naturaldisasters and most difficult recovery our state has ever faced. We mustjoin together and redouble our efforts to work toward solutions thatwill help Iowans in this time of uncertainty. That is where, I believe,my focus and energies should lie."

Rep. Steve King (R-Kiron), who you may remember issued a panicked statement that Iowa would become the 'gay marriage Mecca" shortly after the ruling, said he was considering a run for governor because of it. Said King to the Des Moines Register before Culver released his statement: "I'd rather work with Gov. Culver on saving marriage than use it as a lever against him." Culver is seeking reelection in 2010.

Gays and lesbians will be able to begin marrying their partners in the state on April 27.

Read Chet Culver's full (and I believe, quite well put) statement, AFTER THE JUMP…

***STATEMENT FROM IA GOVERNOR CHET CULVER on SAME-SEX MARRIAGE***

“I have carefully reviewed the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimousdecision on civil marriage and discussed it with the Attorney General.

“Let me begin by saying that I recognize that the issue of same-gendercivil marriage is one that evokes strongly held beliefs and strongemotions both for and against. These beliefs and feelings need to berespected. I hope that the views of those on all sides will be treatedrespectfully and will not be subjected to name-calling orfear-mongering, but instead will lead to rational discussion.

“At the outset, I want to emphasize that the question before the IowaSupreme Court was one of civil marriage only – a state-recognized legalstatus constituting a civil contract. Civil marriage always has been,and will continue to be, separate from religious marriage that takesplace in churches and places of worship.

“As I have stated before, I personally believe that marriage is betweena man and a woman. This is a tenet of my personal faith. The IowaSupreme Court’s decision has, in fact, reaffirmed that churches acrossIowa will continue to have the right to recognize the sanctity ofreligious marriage in accordance with their own traditions and churchdoctrines. The Supreme Court’s decision does not require that churchesrecognize marriages between persons of the same gender or officiateover such unions. The Court does not have, nor should any court everhave, that kind of power over our religious lives. Our churches andplaces of worship are free to decide for themselves, as they werebefore, who may enter the sacred covenant of marriage. As the SupremeCourt’s decision states, ‘The sanctity of all religious marriagescelebrated in the future will have the same meaning as those celebratedin the past.’

“Yet, the Supreme Court of Iowa, in a unanimous decision, has clearlystated that the Constitution of our state, which guarantees equalprotection of the law to all Iowans, requires the State of Iowa torecognize the civil marriage contract of two people of the samegender. The Court also concluded that the denial of this rightconstitutes discrimination. Therefore, after careful consideration anda thorough reading of the Court’s decision, I am reluctant to supportamending the Iowa Constitution to add a provision that our SupremeCourt has said is unlawful and discriminatory.

“As Governor, I must respect the authority of the Iowa Supreme Court,and have a duty to uphold the Constitution of the State of Iowa. I alsofully respect the right of all Iowans to live under the full protectionof Iowa’s Constitution.

“I urge Iowans who hold beliefs on all sides of this issue to exhibitrespect and good will. Our state faces many serious challenges. We arein the midst of a serious economic recession. Tens of thousands of ourfellow Iowans are without work. We have suffered the worst naturaldisasters and most difficult recovery our state has ever faced. We mustjoin together and redouble our efforts to work toward solutions thatwill help Iowans in this time of uncertainty. That is where, I believe,my focus and energies should lie. 

“Letus not lose sight of the fact that we are all Iowans, all neighbors,united in the promise and faith of a brighter future for our state. Letus all work together toward that common goal.”