News

from the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

More than 50 gay and lesbian rights activists from the Hawkeye State, along with supporters from Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois attended "Achieving Marriage Equality in the Heartland," a conference sponsored by the Northeast Iowa chapter of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG. ...

from The Iowa Independent

Two potential Republican presidential candidates waded into the debate over whether three Iowa Supreme Court Justices should be removed from the bench by voters this fall, with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty saying it is appropriate for voters to boot the judges over their ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

from the Los Angeles Times

Reporting from San Francisco — A federal judge Thursday refused to permanently stay his ruling overturning Proposition 8 but extended a temporary hold to give supporters time to appeal the historic ruling.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who overturned the measure on Aug. 4, agreed to give its sponsors until Aug. 18 to appeal his ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. No new marriages can take place until then.

from The Iowa Independent

A bipartisan, nonprofit group calling itself Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts has formed to defend three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who are up for a retention vote on the Nov. 2 ballot. The group formed as a direct result of efforts by former GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats to organize a campaign to oust the judges due to their ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

from Radio Iowa

Republican Bob Vander Plaats today revealed the name of the new group he will lead in an effort to unseat three Iowa Supreme Court justices.

Vander Plaats held a news conference on a sidewalk outside the Iowa Judicial Building to announce his new group will be called “Iowa for Freedom” and the group’s website is already online. “We right now have the resources to run a very effective, grassroots campaign,” Vander Plaats said.

from KCCI-Des Moines

A former gubernatorial candidate who is leading an effort to remove Iowa Supreme Court justices who supported a same-sex marriage decision said he'll get the financing needed to be successful.

Defeated Republican candidate Bob Vander Plaats expressed optimism at a news conference Wednesday that the effort would succeed in removing Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and justices David Baker and Michael Streit. They were part of a unanimous decision last year that legalized gay marriage in Iowa.