Iowa Voters Kick Out Gay “Marriage” Justices

By Peter J. Smith

DES MOINES, Iowa, November 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Iowans punished three state Supreme Court Justices on Tuesday for their rulings legalizing same-sex “marriage” by denying all three another 8-year term.

Voters decided “no” on retaining Justice David L. Baker (54.27 percent), Justice Michael J. Streit (54.41 percent), and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus (55.04 percent) in their posts at the high court.

All three were up for retention votes to stay on the state Supreme Court under Iowa’s constitution. Under a 1962 amendment to Iowa’s constitution, eight years after being appointed judges must go on the ballot for a popular vote to retain their position or be sent packing.

Conservative activist and former GOP candidate for governor Bob Vander Plaats led the charge against the three justices. He argued that the state’s retention vote provides an antidote to the politicization of the court, and that the court usurped the state law by mandating same-sex “marriage.”

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled 7-0 on April 3, 2009 that the state Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violated the state constitution’s guarantees of equal protection.

Vander Plaats and his “Iowa for Freedom” campaign barnstormed the state, arguing that the justices not only violated the legislature’s role by legalizing same-sex “marriage,” but also the executive’s role by ordering the state’s 99 counties to implement their decision.