Hooray for the Hawkeye State, Where the Tall Corn Grows!

That's Iowa we're talkin' 'bout.

I am so proud of Iowa right now, where their Supreme Court just issued an unanimous ruling, holding that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. This brings a same-sex marriage victory to America's heartland. I am thrilled that equality has come to Iowa!

The justices drew explicit parallels to civil rights struggles by blacks and women, holding that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was a violation of the equality promised in the Iowa constitution. The fact that the discrimination is "traditional" doesn't cut it, otherwise "previous successful equal protection challenges of invidious racial and gender classifications would have failed," the court said in its ruling.

This ruling marks another watershed moment in the struggle for full equality. No longer will same-sex couples have their relationships treated as less than equal by the state of Iowa.

It's a very hope-filled sign of the times. My family has strong roots in Iowa; my mother was born and raised there. Though she and my father moved to far-off Chicago (!), we spent many summers and Christmas holidays there. I have a bunch of cousins, and second-cousins, and third-cousins there. It's the sort of family that started having an annual reunion in the 1940s and has convened every August since. We go back there every few years, even after all this time (30+ years) away from the Midwest.

Last summer, when my now-husband and I announced that we were getting married, I sent save-the-date announcements to all the cousins. After all, over the years, I've been invited to all their weddings and most of their children's weddings. But I confess I wasn't exactly sure what the reaction would be.

In retrospect, I never should have doubted. A bunch of my cousins started to organize a group vacation to celebrate the day (and to visit California's wine country, no doubt). Real life intervened, and most of them bailed, one-by-one, except for Leslie and his wife who flew in from Des Moines.

But the folks back in Iowa were poised for news, anxious to see pictures, generous with remembrances. I was moved.

Point is: most people "get it" about the link between civil rights and same-sex marriage, especially when they know someone who is open about who they are and the family they want to create. Many fair-minded Iowans — and fair-minded people across the country — will be celebrating with us. I know my Iowa cousins will be.