DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their jobs on Election Day as a result of their ruling that laws against same-sex marriage violate the Iowa constitution.
Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit, the members of the court facing retention votes this year, were targeted by Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday. They were the first Iowa justices to lose since the state adopted its current system of merit selection and retention votes after eight-year terms in 1962.
"The people of Iowa stood up in record numbers and sent a message ... that it is 'We the people,' not 'We the courts'," Vander Plaats said after Tuesday's vote.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously in April 2009 that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry. The ruling in a Midwestern state shocked and outraged many social conservatives and led to a campaign that spent $650,000 successfully denying Ternus, Baker and Streit the simple majorities they needed to remain on the court.
UPI
