THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8. 2011
PAGE 5A
Changing ideas
In 1972, the Supreme Court was presented with its first same-sex marriage case, Baker v. Nelson. The case was brought by two men, Richard Baker and James McConnell, who had applied for a marriage license in Minnesota and were denied on the grounds that they were of the same-sex. The Supreme Court issued its dismissal of the case in one sentence citing that the issue did not involve the federal government.
The Baker case laid the grounds for more recent legal arguments, including the 2009 case Varnum v. Brein. The case was presented before the Iowa Supreme Court, which found that under the equal protection clause in the Constitution, same-sex marriage is a legal, constitutional right. The decision was unanimous in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in the state of Iowa.
"The opinion reflects a carefully considered constitutional law decision from a state supreme court that has a long history of trying to do the right thing under the law, even if it is not consistent with what other states around it or the nation may be doing," said Ann Estin, a professor at the Iowa College of Law in Iowa City.
The Iowa Supreme Court saw that marriage is not simply a social concept. Under the law, marriage changes tax status, custody, housing and more.
Iowa is the only state in the Midwest to allow same-sex couples to marry legally. Other states have developed provisions, such as domestic partnership registries and civil
unions, to accommodate same-sex couples and provide them the same legal rights that come with marriage.
"We were created to make the state of Iowa more welcoming and accepting for gay and lesbian people," said Troy Price, the executive director of One Iowa, a LGBT civil rights group. "We work to change hearts and minds."
One Iowa's goal is to protect and advance civil rights for the LGBT community in Iowa. Since the group's founding in 2005, its members have worked to educate Iowans about the LGBT community and the benefits for same-sex couples in marriage legalization.
Price said that for the most part, especially after the Varnum decision, Iowaans have responded positively to the One Iowa message.
"Iowans, historically, have always been a people who live and let live," Price said. "We don't really care what people are doing in their house. We don't really mind the gay couple down the street."
Price said when the Iowa Supreme Court first announced its opinion in Varnum people across the state were asking, "How can this be?" But, he says, as time has passed more people are changing their point of view about same-sex marriage.
"A lot of people just have that inherent prejudice to begin with and then they have a conversation with themselves and they talk to their friends and they talk with their neighbors about what this means," Price said. "They think about the gay couple down the street and
actually what this truly means for them."
Despite the change in views across Iowa, same-sex couples and their supporters living in the state are not without their challenges. In 2013, three Iowa Supreme Court justices were denied retention in a state-wide ballot measure.
"We have had judicial retention since the mid-1960s and there have been four times previously where a judge, never a supreme court justice, has been removed. And it has always been for gross incompetence," Price said.
The campaign promoting the removal of the justices was primarily financed by the FAMILY LEADER, a pro-family organization led by president and CEO Bob Vander Plaats. The organization released a statement in December 2010 before its "Capturing Momentum Tour" to the 99-counties in Iowa.
In the news release, FAMILY LEADER director of development, Matt Resetter said, "Now we have an even greater opportunity to harness that election momentum and see that conservative, constitutional, pro-family principles continue to be esteemed in our state for generations to come."
Price explained when the vote occurred, many Iowans did not think the retention vote was a real threat, but after the actions of the FAMILY LEADER, One Iowa and same-sex marriage supporters will not allow anything similar to happen again in Iowa.
Well, what about Kansas?
In April 2005, Kansas voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. A New York Times article, "In the Heartland and Out of the Closet," documents the social changes in Kansas when the constitutional amendment was being considered.
The article discusses the choices gay and lesbian Kansans faced in 2005, especially for individuals and couples who were not open about their sexuality. The article said the choice between standing up against
the constitutional amendment and staying secretive about their sexuality led many Kansans to come out to their friends and neighbors in a way to start a conversation about rights for same-sex couples.
At the time, their efforts were not enough. The constitutional amendment passed and the Kansas constitution now defines it as, "Marriage shall be constituted by one man and one woman only. All other marriages are declared to be contrary to the public policy of this
state and are void."
Despite the constitutional amendment, the number of same-sex couples in the state has grown. In the 2000 census, Kansas registered 21,411 male householders with children. In 2010 the number had grown by 34.4 percent to 28,773 households. Ken and Evan Scheweda-Stoskopf and their children are in the 34.4 percent change.
A truly modern family
For Evan and Ken's children, having two dads is not a big deal. The children are Ken's from a previous marriage.
"I am good friends with my ex-wife and we still love each other," Ken said. "We have three great kids we share."
The children, Maddie, 13 years old, Tristen, 12 years old, and Hayley, 10 years old, split time between their dads' house and their mom's. The kids go to school in Baldwin City where their mom lives.
Maddie is a cheerleader at Baldwin High School and, like any high school girl, spends time on Facebook and hanging out with friends. Tristen spends his time playing football and baseball when he isn't flirting with the young ladies. Hayley is the most out-spoken of the kids and she enjoys gymnastics, softball and art.
Evan and Ken have been open with the children about their sexuality and they credit television shows with gay characters such as "Glee" and "Modern Family," for making it easier to talk about.
"Tristen was about six when he asked me, 'Why don't you like girls?' Ken said. "I said, 'Well, that's just the way I was made.' And
Tristen just said,'Well, I don't care. Dad"
Ken said he was surprised Tristen had an easy time accepting Ken as being gay. He said he believed it would be difficult for Tristen to accept him after growing up in a small, conservative town.
Evan and Ken said they really never talked about it in a formal way with the kids.
"It's just there," Evan said. "Just like my parents never talked about, 'Oh, we're straight.'
"It's our family," Ken said. "We love each other and we want to be around each other."
When politics enters the picture
in August, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry joined fellow candidates Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in signing the National Organization for Marriage's pledge to support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
In a November interview with the Nashua Telegraph, Romney said, "I'm in favor of traditional marriage. I oppose same-sex marriage. At the same time, I don't believe in discriminating in employment or opportunity for gay individuals. So I favor gay rights. I do not favor same-sex marriage".
Evan follows national politics closely, especially same-sex couples rights issues.
"It hurts to see someone actively make a pledge to tear our family apart," Evan said. "They want to divorce us."
Currently, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, signed in 1996 by President Bill Clinton is still in effect. It defines marriage, in regards to any thing on the federal level, as a legal union between a man and
Today, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco, will hear two major motions in the case regarding Prop 8, a California measure from 2008 banning same-sex marriage in the state. In the 2010 case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, Prop 8 was overturned and ruled to be unconstitutional because it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.
However, President Obama instructed the Justice Department in February to cease defending the section of the statute defining marriage. Several cases are pending in the district courts, as well as the federal court of appeals.
Following the federal action, the state of New York passed the Mariage Equality Act on July 24. Same-sex couples young and oldlocked to the city to be married throughout the summer. On Dec.1, a New York judge allowed a lawsuit seeking to void the act to proceed.
a woman. It also says states are not required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
The Circuit of Appeals case is on track to be decided in early 2012. From there, the case could go to the United States Supreme Court. The court could set a precedent if it finds the ban unconstitutional, which would lift all bans against same-sex marriage as well as find DOMA to be unconstitutional.
Solicitor general McAllister said for same-sex couples in Kansas, the likelihood of the state constitutional ban being lifted is unlikely. Because the state's voters ratified the amendment in 2005 through a ballot vote, the Kansas Supreme Court now has its hands tied. He said it will take a case being accepted into the U.S. Supreme Court and the opinion finding DOMA to be unconstitutional on a federal level to change the nation's legal definition of marriage.
For Evan and Ken, they will continue to live and work in Kansas with their children. They are secure in the thought that as time goes on, the groups working against their marriage will grow smaller.
— Edited by Alex Esposito
HANNAH WISE/KANSAN
Evan and Ken pose for an "engagement" photo. The men are having their wedding ceremony with family in June 2012. The couple was legally married in May in Iowa.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kim Dodd, left, and Kathe Davridge, both of New York, walk away from the Manhattan City Clerk's office after getting married. Sunday, July 24, 2011 in New York. Hundreds of gay couples were expected to marry in New York and across the Empire State on the first day of same-sex marriage ceremonies.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Under a rainbow chuppah, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah Synagogue in New York, right, marry Sari Kessler, second from left, and Erik Karp, center, as their three daughters and Kessler's brother, Jonathan Kessler, second from right, surround them Sunday July 24, 2011, in a park across the street from the Office of the City Clerk in New York. The couple, who live in New York, have been together for 14 years.