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Iowa voters boot three state supreme court justices who ruled in favor of gay marriage

November 4, 2010 Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats
Tuesday in a historic upset fueled by their 2009
decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry.

Vote totals from 96 percent of Iowa's 1,774
precincts showed Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and
Justices David Baker and Michael Streit with less
than the simple majority needed to stay on the
bench.

Their removal marked the first time an Iowa Supreme
Court justice has not been retained since 1962,
when the merit selection and retention system for
judges was adopted.

The decision is expected to echo to courts
throughout the country, as conservative activists
had hoped."It appears we're headed for a
resounding victory tonight and a historic moment in
the state of Iowa," said Bob Vander Plaats, the Sioux
City businessman who led a campaign to remove the
justices because of the 2009 gay marriage ruling.
"The people of Iowa stood up in record numbers
and sent a message ... that it is 'We the people,' not
'We the courts.' "...


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