(CNN) An Iowa district court ruled Thursday that same-sex couples can marry based on the state constitution's guarantee of equal treatment, court documents show.
The ruling was in response to a December 2005 lawsuit brought by six same-sex couples seeking to wed. They were denied marriage licenses and claimed such treatment violates equal-protection and due-process clauses in the Iowa constitution.
The court also struck down a state law declaring valid marriages are only between a man and woman.
The 63-page ruling, written by Judge Robert Hanson states: "Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 595 by reason of the fact that both persons compromising such a couple are of the same sex."
The law describing marriage as between a man and a woman, "constitutes the most intrusive means by the state to regulate marriage. This statute is an absolute prohibition on the ability of gay and lesbian individuals to marry a person of their choosing," Hanson wrote.
Kudos to Judge Hanson. To read his entire ruling, click here.
First Massachusetts. Now Iowa. 
As a UU, I must give a nod to the "mother land."
And as a Californian, I have to say that this is the second time that the state of Iowa has put me to shame. The first was when I was interviewing for a postdoc at the University of Iowa and Cali had just passed that heinous Proposition 187. And several people in Iowa were asking me what the deal was with California. How could we do something so shameful? What could/can I say?
GO IOWA!!
