Thanks for the update, Steve. I've been reading about this on other gay and non-gay news sites, but I always like the way you put things in perspective.

A supervisor in Jefferson County, IA, may try to avoid issuing licenses. link

An updated story from the Des Moines Register. link

there was a concerted push from some far-right activists to have county recorders simply ignore the law

• safety inspections
• accounting regulations
• use of public time and equipment for politicking
• bidding requirements for defense work
• surveillance of Americans
• torture of detainees
• War Powers Act
• Constitution

"Iowa" is the key ingredient here. Until now this was largely happening in the northeast and California. The nation will be seeing real live, living, breathing gay couples getting married in the heartland. Its taken a big step towards mainstream. I think the right will get more desperate and much uglier now that they are being painted into a corner...and I think that will not play well with the general public who is becoming more comfortable with the concept of gay marriage. Its not just something Chic east-coasters and hip west-coasters do. Its in the heartland.

This isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, but its like Hitler's winter of 1942. The war wasn't over, but he had already lost.

As an County Recorder in Iowa, I reserve the same rights as our national leaders to accept or reject laws and court rulings.

If crimes, such as torture and illegal wiretapping, by federal government officials are ignored by the president and Department of Justice, on what basis can anyone object if I ignore this illbegotten ruling of our state's supreme court?

I'm not surprised: in Calaveras County CA, where I live, there was no problem with marriage licenses for same sex couples during the brief five months gay marriage was allowed here. Cuts in staffing made performing marriages difficult regardless of gender mix, but not only were licenses granted, but the local paper, also very small, did a joyous cover story on two long-time residents who married. This is a conservative county where the simply indescribable Dan "No on S-Chip and Everything Else" Lungren (R) purports to represent us in Congress.

Didn't St Ronnie of Washington fire the air traffic controllers for ignoring the law ?

Just Sayin'

Hmmm, I'm a little suspicious of "an County Recorder" -- I kinda figure most of the real ones know the difference between "a" and "an."

But to take the argument at face value, the "basis" is, of course, the law. That someone, say, murders an innocent human being is not an excuse for another person doing the same.

I think what's really at work here, though, is the usual "God's law" argument. Religious nuts convince themselves they've got some direct line to the supernatural by which they perceive some "higher law," and because of that they're free to ignore the ones put in place by legislatures, courts, and so on.

Needless to say, the only place for such people is prison. Presumably there they can obey all the higher law they want.

And some quietly normal people will pursue their quietly normal dreams.
Too bad the sky will fall on Iowa now. It seems like a pleasant place, more so lately.

Remember, when the ACLU or "the gays" look for a test case to bring before the courts its an outrageous overthrow of the popular will, as expressed by legislation, custom, or democracy. When right wing christianists do it, its all good. Christians are both a triumphant majority in this country, and a persecuted minority, so they are entitled to speak out of both sides of their mouths on each and every subject.

aimai

Who the hell would risk losing their job, especially what I presume to be a fairly good government one, in this economy.

Especially if its losing a job because you refuse to let a bunch of people you will never come into contact with and who will effect your life in no way whatsoever marry who they want.

It's common sense.

Weren't the right wingers the ones who bleated loudest about the "Rule of Law" in 1998? Or was that different, because it involved a Clinton?

my sense (based on living in iowa since 1976) is that there isn't a lot of local energy here available for right-wing protests. The anti-abortion protesters we see are usually from out of state, and while there was a small protest at the state house that did include "real" Iowans, there are 99 counties/99 recorder offices, and it would be hard to target even a small number of them, especially with local protesters...

Eeyore: Weren't the right wingers the ones who bleated loudest about the "Rule of Law" in 1998?

Well, you've got to remember that any law proposed and passed by liberals is not a law at all but instead a piece of socialist doctrine to be beaten back by gun-toting, bible-quoting 'Mericans!

I'd really like to see gay activist groups drop the whole marriage issue. Instead, I think we should point to the high failure rate in marriages as evidence that the institution is seriously flawed and we want nothing to do with it; that civil unions are just fine. My guess is that within months, the right will be vilifying us for being too cowardly to make a commitment in front of God and soon enough they will demand that we marry.

i live in illinois, and i can feel my "opposite" marriage crumbling as we speak.
damn those gays.

/end snark/

"I'm an Iowa County Recorder, forced to choose between my beliefs and my job."

And we all laughed at the "gathering storm" hysteria!

For every gay or lesbian couple getting married in Iowa, there is an actor pretending to be a doctor in California that can't do their job, whatever that might be.

Refusing to issue a license is obvious. What about the not so obvious, lost paperwork, misspelling, wrong SSN, and probably hundreds of other little things they could do to nullify the actual marriage,or at least inconvenient.

This has nothing to do with law, or man's law, this is all about their interpretation of what god wants.

"I'm an Iowa County Recorder, forced to choose between my beliefs and my job"

No one is forcing you to keep your job, asshole. Feel free to join the unemployment line if you feel that strongly about it.

my sense (based on living in iowa since 1976) is that there isn't a lot of local energy here available for right-wing protests. The anti-abortion protesters we see are usually from out of state, and while there was a small protest at the state house that did include "real" Iowans, there are 99 counties/99 recorder offices, and it would be hard to target even a small number of them, especially with local protesters...

Right on, Elisabeth. I spent two years in Iowa (attending grad school in Ames), and on the whole it seemed like a pretty sensible state. Even the conservatives were pretty live-and-let-live, not social-issue oriented by any means. I think just about all the fundy right-wing punks have moved down to Kansas.

I'm willing to bet y'all a whole box of teabags, that the Iowa County Recorder is a spoof (my guess for the authorship is the Old Vet). I wouldn't get all flappy about it.

Sorry for the lack of a snark tag on my earlier comment. I thought the source was clear (particularly when qwerty made a similar comment one after mine).

Thx to Elisabeth and Vincent for reminding the insular coastal rubes that Iowans are primarily sensible law-abiding folks.

Refusing to issue a license is obvious. What about the not so obvious, lost paperwork, misspelling, wrong SSN, and probably hundreds of other little things they could do to nullify the actual marriage,or at least inconvenient.

This has nothing to do with law, or man's law, this is all about their interpretation of what god wants.

You know, Scott, you could just break their kneecaps on the way into the building. Or you could go slash their tires while they're getting married. That would inconvenience them good too. Grow up, creep.

Ummm, if Scott was playing devil's advocate, I apologize. If he's advocating screwing up marriage licences, not so much.

Never had a day in my life that I was more proud to be from Iowa. All the indefinitely-engaged couples that we can watch finally getting the wrongfully-removed right to be legally bound by their committed love. People who watch this huge outpouring of love and passion and dont feel at least a bit empathetic, if not teary-eyed, must not have a heart or the feeling of love themselves.

And guess what? The Sun will still come up tomorrow.