On this day in 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled that banning same-sex marriage violated the state constitution, making Iowa the third state in the nation and the first in the Midwest to legalize marriage equality. The decision came from an unexpected place, a conservative farm state where many assumed such progress would never take root. It proved that the fight for marriage equality was not just a coastal cause but a deeply American one, with Justice Mark Cady writing that 'the right to marry is a fundamental right' that belongs to everyone. That ruling set off a wave of weddings and a backlash that included the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices, but the marriages themselves were never undone. Today, with marriage equality under renewed political pressure, Iowa's courage reminds us that justice can arrive from the places we least expect it.
What does marriage equality mean to you, and how has it changed your life or the lives of people you love?