IOWANS VOTE OFF GAY FRIENDLY JUDGES

Three Iowa state Supreme Court justices, David Baker, Michael Streit, and Marsha Ternus, who declared the US state’s marriage ban unconstitutional in 2009 have been ousted by voters this week.

They were up for re-election to remain on Iowa’s Supreme Court bench but voters appear to have punished them for their actions following a vociferous anti-gay campaign by the conservative National Organisation for Marriage (NOM).

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said that it “condemned NOM’s efforts to intimidate judges across the country”.

“By their own admission, NOM’s Iowa strategy was about sending a warning shot to judges nationwide,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

“NOM and its secret donors will continue to target judges around the country if they rule in favour of marriage equality and will foster an anti-gay, hostile environment in the process.”

Solmonese accused NOM of a strategy of evading tax and election laws and trying to intimidate judges.

Same-sex marriage remains legal in Iowa, along with the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.