By Jim Legare

Somehow I knew when I woke up today that Arpil 27th, 2009 would be a special day. And it is. Today the Iowa Supreme Court made a decision that bolsters our rights (mine and yours). Allow me to digress a little so that I may provide the view from the sky.

Rights seem to be those nebulous things that no one seems to care about. But they do. Unfortunately, the people who are battling to take our rights away seem to understand their importance more than the people who are being stripped of their rights (me and you).

Returning to the subject of our recent victory (mine and yours), there is a document of great importance that can be called, in every sense of the word, historic. The Constitution: the highest source of law in the land. Although, there is the very critical matter of how it is interpreted. As the saying goes: “The Devil is in the details.”

The Founding Fathers wished to take care of this Devil; send him off with great dispatch, you understand. The point was to avoid tyranny. The insightful writers of the Constitution understood a little about the nature of tyranny; why it just keeps coming back, etc. That is why we have a system of courts to interpret this great Constitution. (The U.S. and the Sates) They are living documents, not dead like the Sea Scrolls.

The plot in the Constitution is way better than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Trust me.

In the case that was decided by the Iowa Supreme Court, they were interpreting the State Constitution. It was that nasty Equal Protection clause thing that has snagged so many same-sex marriage nay-sayers.

Here we witness the State Constitution operating, through the action of the courts to guide it, on the same principle as the US Constitution. The laws of Iowa cannot take rights away from an individual, in an unreasonable way, with out a compelling interest that cannot be satisfied any other way. The judges finally must decided the case in a way that is informed with the knowledge of the purpose of the laws. These are not laws for the sake of laws. They are not dead. Their purpose must be interpreted.

That is what this case sought to resolve.

According to the ACLU, gays and lesbians (us) can now be married in Iowa. How did this fine day arrive? Why would waking up this morning be different from any other? Read the ACLU Blog of Rights. It provides facts that reveal the State of Iowa’s long history of standing up for people’s rights. It has a link to the case that was decided in The Supreme Court of Iowa (not as important as the US Supreme Court, but its getting up there.)

The case: No. 07-1499, was filed April 3rd, 2009. The district court summary judgement ruling holding state statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman unconstitutional was affirmed. See the Polk County Recorder. This case was officially entered by the Polk County Registrar.

Better yet, read the ACLU Blog. Our rights cannot blog themselves. They need us.

Our rights are invisible and they will disappear faster than the mist over the Appalachian Mountains unless we come to their defense. The enemies of freedom understand this. The question is, will we wake up in the morning and smell the coffee in time.

Jim Legare