The Iowa Supreme Court will release its ruling on gay marriage Friday. Six gay couples filed a lawsuit in Polk County in 2005 arguing the state law which stipulates the only legal marriages in Iowa are those between a man and a woman is discriminatory.
The Iowa Suprme heard the oral arguments in the case on December 9th as a large crowd packed the court chambers. The High Court will post its ruling to the judicial branch website Friday by 8:30. Des Moines attorney Dennis Johnson represented the six couples who filed the lawsuit, and spoke with reporters after the December arguments.
"I have to say that the Iowa Supreme Court justices were very well prepared, it’s clear that they’ve read the briefs and the cases and considered everything carefully, that’s all we can ask," Johnson says.
On the other side of the issue, Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center watched the December arguments too. Hurley said he was "very impressed" with the Supreme Court’s questions on both sides, and he says he expects a very "learned and fair decision from them."
Democrats who control the debate in the Iowa Legislature have resisted the call for an amendment to Iowa’s Constitution banning gay marriage, saying they want to see how this case turns out.