“I started to cry because we so badly want to be able to be protected if something happens to one of us,” Rethmeier said.

And that’s precisely what “separate but equal” clauses can’t guarantee. Which is precisely why they’re unconscionable. Which is why a district court judge in Iowa ruled the State’s ban on gay marriages unconstitutional. Which, of course, is why the republicans in Iowa are pushing for a state constitutional amendment:

House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the ruling illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Setting aside the pesky details (for instance, an unconstitutional State Amendment is still unconstitutional), let’s hope it fails. In light of this comment, I’m eagerly awaiting Kips hasty stitches.

I’ve skimmed the Iowa ruling, and I can say this upfront: It’s everything the New York ruling wasn’t but ought to have been.