WHO: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Douglas Napier
WHAT: Available for media interviews before and after hearing in Varnum v. Brien
WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 9; hearing begins at 10 a.m. CST
WHERE: Iowa Supreme Court, Iowa Judicial Branch Building, 1111 E. Court Ave., Des Moines
DES MOINES, Iowa — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Douglas Napier will be available for media interviews before and after Tuesday’s oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court in a lawsuit challenging the state’s Defense of Marriage Act. ADF attorneys represent Iowa state legislators who filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the high court in defense of the act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman--the same definition that has existed for the entire history of the state.
“The Iowa marriage law is simple, settled, and overwhelmingly supported by Iowans. There’s simply no legitimate reason to consider redefining marriage,” said Napier. “Marriage as one man and one woman has been the law in Iowa for 170 years. It’s supported by a majority of Iowans, was nearly unanimously supported by the legislature, and is supported by the governor. It’s hard to believe we’re even debating it.”
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in December 2005 against Polk County Clerk Timothy Brien on behalf of six same-sex couples demanding marriage licenses and arguing that the state’s Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
In April 2007, ADF attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of several state legislators in support of the Iowa DOMA. After the lower court ruled the act unconstitutional, ADF attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Iowa Supreme Court on behalf of five state legislators who are calling into question the trial judge’s decision in August 2007 to reject the state’s expert testimony in defense of the act (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4375).
“The judge simply ignored the law in favor of redefining marriage,” Napier explained. “The legislature voted nearly unanimously to re-affirm marriage as one man and one woman just 10 years ago. The Iowa marriage law mirrors the federal marriage law, which has been upheld by the courts numerous times.”
ADF-allied attorneys Steven W. Fitschen of the National Legal Foundation and Joshua Baker of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy wrote separate friend-of-the-court briefs for the case.
A fact sheet on the lawsuit, Varnum v. Brien, is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/BrienFactSheet.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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