Iowa Supreme Court says gay marriage ban unconstitutional

“If gay and lesbian people must submit to different treatment without an exceedingly persuasive justification, they are deprived of the benefits of the principle of equal protection upon which the rule of law is founded,” the court wrote. “Iowa Code section 595.2 denies gay and lesbian people the equal protection of the law promised by the Iowa Constitution.”

while other courts have allowed their state legislatures to create parallel civil institutions for same-sex couples, such as civil unions, "a new distinction based on sexual orientation would be equally suspect and difficult to square with the fundamental principles of equal protection embodied in our constitution."

"The language in Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute, and the remaining statutory language must be interpreted and applied in a manner allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil marriage," the court wrote.