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Most people know that same-sex marriage is now legal in Iowa. Same-sex marriage (also called "gay marriage") is where a man marries another man, or a woman marries another woman. Same-sex couples in Iowa have been living together and creating families together for a long time. But Iowa law said only a couple made up of a man and a woman could get married here.

That changed in April 2009, when the Iowa Supreme Court decided the case of Varnum v. Brien. In that case, several gay and lesbian couples asked the Polk County Recorder for marriage licenses (to get married in Iowa you have to get a marriage license from the county recorder's office). The recorder's office said it couldn't give the couples marriage licenses. At the time, there was a law on the books in Iowa that said only a man and a woman could get married. The couples sued the county recorder's office.

The case went all the way up to the Iowa Supreme Court. The seven justices (judges) of the Iowa Supreme Court said the law violates the Iowa Constitution. Specifically, the Court said the law violates something called the Equal Protection Clause of Iowa's constitution. The Equal Protection Clause is a part of the constitution that says the state government may only make laws that apply to all Iowans equally. The court decided that the state cannot let straight people get married while not letting gay people get married.

That is because marriage is an institution regulated by the state. Iowa, like every other state, has a whole collection of laws that say who can get married and who can't, how the state must treat married people, and what married people must do for each other. People who are married have many advantages, and the Varnum decision says the state must make those benefits available to gay couples as well as straight couples.

Most people also know that same-sex marriage is still pretty rare in the United States. Right now there are only a handful of other states where a same-sex couple can get married, plus a few others that don't let same-sex couples get married but do let them register for domestic or civil "partnerships." Because same-sex marriage is so new, people still have a lot of questions about how it is going to work. Some of these questions can be answered and will be discussed in the rest of this article. Some questions can't be answered yet, and will have to wait for the legislature and the courts to make laws or issue decisions to answer them.

The Iowa Supreme Court's decision in the Varnum case took effect on April 27, 2009. From that day on, same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa.

Who Can Get Married in Iowa?
In Iowa, any two people can get married as long as they meet the following requirements:

• They must both be able to make a contract. That means neither person can be under a legal disability. An example of a person under a legal disability would be a person under a guardianship where the court has decided the person cannot marry. A guardianship is where a court says a person (called the ward) is not able to make some or all of his or her own decisions. This may be because the person has a disability like mental retardation or Alzheimer's disease.
• They must both be eighteen. However, it is possible for a person who is sixteen or seventeen to get married. A person who is sixteen or seventeen may get married if his or her parents give their consent in writing, and a district court judge says OK.
• They must not be related to each other too closely. In Iowa, you cannot marry:
• your son or daughter;
• your aunt or uncle;
• your brother or sister;
• your grandchild;
• your first cousin.
• Neither can be married to someone else who is still alive.
  They must get a marriage license, wait three days, have the marriage "solemnized," and return the license to the county recorder's office (more about this later).

Two people do NOT have to be of opposite sexes to get married in Iowa. A man and a man, a woman and a woman, or a man and a woman may all get married in Iowa as long as they meet these requirements.

Do Two People Have to Live in Iowa to Get Married Here?
No. You must come to Iowa to get a marriage license, and the marriage must be performed here and registered here. But you do not have to live here. You have to live in Iowa to get divorced here, but not to get married here.

What Rights Do My Spouse and I Have As Married People in Iowa?
As a married person in Iowa, you have certain rights. You have these rights whether your spouse is of the same sex or the opposite sex. You can:

• consent to emergency medical care for your spouse, or visit your spouse in the hospital;
• inherit property from your spouse if he or she dies;
• make decisions about the disposition of your spouse's body (burial, cremation, or something else);
• sue someone who causes the death of your spouse;
• receive worker's compensation benefits if your spouse is killed at work;
• be covered by your spouse's health care or other benefits (or cover your spouse with yours) if those benefits are regulated by state law;
• file a joint state tax return with your spouse;
• sign a premarital agreement before getting married.

It is important to remember that same-sex marriage is still not recognized by the federal government. That means, for example, that you can file a joint state tax return with your same-sex spouse, but not a joint federal tax return.

It is also important to remember that marriage also bring obligations with it. Under Iowa law, for example, spouses have a duty to support each other. That is why courts sometimes order one spouse to pay spousal support (also called alimony) to the other one after a divorce.

Is My Same-Sex Spouse Covered By My Health Insurance?
That depends on what kind of health insurance you have. If you (or your employer) buy health insurance from an insurance company, your same-sex spouse is probably covered. That is because this kind of health insurance is usually regulated by state law, and Iowa state law now recognizes same-sex marriage. If your employer runs its own health insurance program, your same-sex spouse is probably not covered. That is because such insurance is usually regulated by federal law, and federal law still does not recognize same-sex marriage.

I Married a Person of the Same Sex in Another State or Country. Will Iowa Recognize My Marriage?
This is one of those questions without a clear answer yet. It is probably safe to assume that Iowa will recognize same-sex marriages from other states and countries. If a marriage is legal where it was performed, it will usually be recognized in Iowa. The same is probably true of domestic or civil partnerships.

Will My Home State or Country Recognize My Same-Sex Iowa Marriage?
That depends on what state or country you come from. What your Iowa marriage means in another state or country depends on what their laws say. If you have questions, the best thing to do is consult a lawyer licensed to practice in the state or country you have questions about. Iowa Legal Aid does not have lawyers licensed to practice in other states or countries and cannot help people with questions about other states' or countries' marriage laws.

What If I Have a Same-Sex Marriage in Iowa, But Plan to Travel Somewhere Outside the State?
If you married someone of the same sex in Iowa, your marriage will be recognized by the state of Iowa. You should not assume that your Iowa same-sex marriage will be recognized beyond the borders of the state.

Even if you are just on a brief trip to another place, remember that different laws apply which may be very different from the laws in Iowa. 
Same-sex couples in Iowa should keep doing the same things same-sex couples everywhere have been doing for years to protect their rights:
You and your spouse should both have wills. This will help ensure that money and other property goes where you want it to go if you die.

You and your spouse should have living wills and durable healthcare power-of-attorney documents. These will make it easier for each of you to make decisions about the other's medical care in an emergency.
If you are raising a child together who is not the biological child of one parent (or both), you should look into adoption or some other legal procedure that will give both of you the right to raise that child.

This is NOT a complete list of all the things you should think about: these are just a few examples. You should talk to a lawyer about your particular situation. The lawyer may be able to suggest other legal papers or procedures that will help you protect your family when you are outside of Iowa.