Go Hawkeyes! A personal note of congratulations to Iowa on their landmark gay marriage ruling

My hometown, Dubuque 

I'd like to take a moment's pause from meticulously studying the leaked images of a naked Hugh Jackman from the Wolverine movie (in the name of science!) to give a shout-out to my peeps in Iowa. Born and bred in the cornfields myself, I fled the provincial life when I was 18 for the fame and fortune of the big city ... and of course ended up here. Oh, you fates and your wacky senses of humor!

Anyway, it's always been endlessly amusing to my family that the possibility of gay marriage becoming legal in Iowa before it became legal in New York was actually quite high, and today we got the punchline: The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturned a law that limited marriage to being between a man and a woman, effectively making gay marriage legal in the Hawkeye State as of April 24. This makes Iowa the first state in the Midwest and the fourth state in the union to have such a law.

This means a lot to me personally. I love my hometown and am proud of where I came from, and more so now than ever. My father is an attorney and when he was in Des Moines last year for business he took a few hours to sit in on the gay marriage hearings going on at the capitol, something that he may not have done had he not had a gay son himself, and it meant a lot to me that he went out of his way to do so.

Andy and I in Dubuque

And as a man who is getting married himself next month and who has to actually leave his state of residence in order to legally do so (NY will recognize gay marriages performed in states where it is legal but will not perform them itself), it's kind of hilarious that had I never left Iowa to begin with for "more liberal and accepting New York" I could potentially have gotten married there in a few months' time. (Although of course, I would never have met Andy.) But knowing that when my husband-to-be and I visit my family back in Iowa we will enjoy all the safeties and benefits of marriage (if, say, there is an accident or something) is immensely comforting. 

So props to the Iowa legislators and the courageous (and litigious!) gay couples who brought this into being, and a heartfelt congrats to our LGBT brothers and sisters in the heartland. Granted, I'm sure the issue is far from settled, but it's a huge step in the right direction.

Go Hawkeyes!