PFLAG Applauds Iowa Marriage Decision
“Today, America’s Heart Can Truly Be Found in the Heartland,” says group

Des Moines, IA – In a landmark decision released earlier today, the Iowa
Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling finding that the state
must recognize full marriage equality for same-sex couples. In a
unanimous ruling, the court’s justices found that to deny same-sex
couples access to marriage violates the Equal Protection clause of the
Iowa constitution. The court wrote that it was “firmly convinced the
exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil
marriage does not substantially further any important governmental
objective,” adding that, “The legislature has excluded a historically
disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution
without a constitutionally sufficient justification.”

“Today, America’s heart can truly be found in the heartland,” said Jody
M. Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). “At last, every family in Iowa will be
afforded the rights, protections and responsibilities that their
commitments deserve. Without a single page of dissent, the shepherds of
Iowa’s constitution have risen to the defense of loving couples and
upheld the most noble idea of our legal system: that, indeed, we are
created, and must be treated, equally under the law. We congratulate
our friends in Iowa, including our allies at One Iowa and Lambda Legal,
for this truly significant victory.”

Iowa becomes the third state in the nation to recognize marriage
equality, following similar victories in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
California voters rolled back a similar decision in November, and that
state’s high court is currently considering the fate of thousands of
couples who were legally married.

“Every family in Iowa can find solace and strength in this momentous
decision,” said Linda Trudeau, a member of PFLAG’s Ames, Iowa chapter
whose daughter, Shawna has been with her partner for nine years.
“Today, our state has honored our family, including my two beautiful
grandsons, by declaring that no family can be deemed ‘less than’ in the
eyes of the law. Eight years ago, my daughter was united, in her heart,
through a commitment ceremony with her partner. At last, they can be
united under the law, too. Our government can do nothing more powerful
than keep families together, and protect them under the law, and the
state of Iowa has now lived up to that promise for lesbian and gay
couples, too.”

According to The Williams Institute at the University of California-Los
Angeles, there are an estimated 5,200 same-sex couples currently living
in Iowa, nearly 20 percent of whom are raising children. Same-sex
couples, The Williams Institute has found, live in every county in the
state.

For more information on PFLAG’s efforts to promote marriage equality,
visit www.pflag.org.

Dear PFLAG Family & Friends,

As 2008 draws to a close, all of us at PFLAG want to express our enormous gratitude for your support, encouragement and hard work to move equality forward. With your steadfast support, we have made real progress in our work to respect, honor and embrace our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family members and loved ones. And even though we fell short this year in our attempts to defeat extreme, anti-gay ballot measures in several states, we are anxious to get to work with the most pro-LGBT administration and Congress in history as we chart the course for our families’ futures. 

We have important work ahead of us, and together, we have made important strides in 2008.


• PFLAG took on anti-gay lawmakers in the heartland, bringing a message of hope and inspiration to LGBT people in even the most rural, red-state communities in our country. In Oklahoma City, for example, our local chapter stood up to Sally Kern, a state lawmaker who compared gays to terrorists and demeaned our families and friends. In St. Louis, we opposed an honorary doctorate for Phyllis Schlafly, one of the most virulent, anti-gay activists in the country. And we called out Senator John McCain when, on the presidential campaign trail, he insinuated that our families were somehow unacceptable families for children in need of loving homes.

• We launched Cultivating Respect, an important new Safe Schools initiative, to combat anti-LGBT animus in our nation’s schools. By rallying local parents to work with local school administrators, PFLAG is harnessing our nationwide network of allies to improve school climates, educate educators about keeping students safe and empower parents to speak up and make a difference where it matters most: in their own hometowns, where their own children go to school every day.

• The media increasingly looked to PFLAG for insights on the movement for equality. When Senator McCain announced his opposition to adoption rights for same-sex couples, the Associated Press turned to us. When California’s Supreme Court issued its historic ruling on marriage equality, USA Today asked PFLAG to weigh in . . . and turned to us again in the days following the passage of Proposition 8. And The Progressive Media Project partnered with PFLAG for widely distributed op-eds on welcoming faith communities, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the urgent need for comprehensive hate crimes legislation.

• President-Elect Obama’s transition team invited PFLAG to have a seat at the table at a recent meeting of LGBT advocacy groups. We were honored to provide our insight about priorities for our community over the next four years, and to bring the parents’ and allies’ voice to a conversation with high-ranking administration officials.

• We called out Love Won Out, the so-called “ex-gay” conference, when it came to Orlando and Anchorage. PFLAG parents greeted young people being forced into this day-long conference, with messages of hope, love and acceptance. Wherever Love Won Out goes, PFLAG will be there to support the children who are subjected to this harmful, anti-gay rhetoric.

• We took on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” with an outstanding rebuke of the law from PFLAG National board member Dan Tepfer in The Dayton Daily News and a week-long blog series featuring service members dismissed under the law, and their parents, talking about the campaign for repeal. And when Congress held its first hearings on the issue since 1993,USA Today turned to PFLAG for an analysis of that historic moment, and our thoughts on how to best move forward as we work to lift the ban.

Even with all that progress, however, much work remains to be done. In the coming months, the new Administration and new Congress will tackle critically important issues of equality. Employment non-discrimination . . . a federal hate crimes law . . . and repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are just a few of the historic steps forward that are possible now. But, as we learned in California, Florida, Arizona an Arkansas on election day, it is essential that we have the resources to expand and mobilize our grassroots network of allies in order to change hearts and minds.

This is a pivotal time for our community . . . and a moment to rally our families and allies for our cause. But we cannot do that without you. And so, as you consider your year-end giving, I hope you will make a tax-deductible contribution to PFLAG National. Together, we can continue our important work in 2009 and seize the opportunities ahead of us to realize real change for our LGBT loved ones. 

Even in these difficult economic times, PFLAG’s work is monumentally important. Our LGBT friends can still be fired for being gay. Our sons and daughters in the armed forces can still be dismissed because of who they love. And, as we reported in a recent op-ed, hate crimes against our community continue to rise. 

Through all of that, PFLAG must still be there. And I hope you will stand with us, too. 

I am enormously proud of everything our PFLAG families did to work for equality in 2008, and I am optimistic about the chances for real change in 2009. And with your generous, year-end contribution, we can finally pass pro-LGBT legislation and ensure that every family is respected and protected under the laws of our land. 

Thank you for your continued support, and please accept our best wishes for a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with opportunities. Wherever you are, remember that your actions, both large and small, make a real difference in the fight for full equality.

Sincerely,

Jody M. Huckaby
PFLAG National Executive Director

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will convene its 21st annual Creating Change Conference in Denver Jan. 28–Feb. 1, 2009. This is the GLBT movement’s most important gathering, and it will draw together around 2,500 queer activists and their allies for networking, strategizing, grassroots organizing, skills building, leadership development, policy debates, inspirational speakers, and so much more. Day-long institutes, 90-minute and 3-hour workshops (over 200 to choose from!), plenary sessions, issue/identity-specific caucuses, receptions, entertainment, and parties will fill the calendar each day, from early morning until late night.

Having attended 12 or 13 prior Creating Change conferences, I can assure you that to experience all of this in a totally GLBT-positive environment with 2,000+ like-minded activists is empowering, energizing, educational, exhausting, inspiring, and absolutely wonderful! This is where activists go to “recharge their batteries.” I strongly encourage you to attend this movement-building conference while the opportunity is right at our door step, in the Grand Hyatt downtown, 17th & Welton Streets. If you would like more information, take a look at their website, www.creatingchange.org, or contact me at tkwdco@comcast.net.

One of the most important financial factors which has allowed me to attend Creating Change in the past is the availability of “community housing,” which is provided for those unable to afford the rates in a fancy hotel. (The accommodations at a major conference often cost more than either the registration fee or a person’s transportation costs.) Because I have benefited from this offering on numerous occasions, this year I am working on the Denver Host Committee’s Community Housing Subcommittee as a way to give back. 

So, if you are close to downtown, live near a major bus line or light rail station, or plan to attend the conference yourself, then I invite you to offer a spare sofa or an extra bedroom to the conference in order for an activist to attend who might not be able to do so without this type of support. By the way, it’s also a great way to make a new friend or two. NGLTF’s national office in DC does the necessary screening and the matching of hosts to visitors.

To sign up as a host for community housing: please email Marta (in DC office) at creatingchange@thetaskforce.org, with a ‘cc’ to me at tkwdco@comcast.net so I can help with any follow-up that might be needed.