Yesterday I wrote about how Iowa State Sen. Merlin Bartz and the Iowa Family Policy Center were circulating petitions designed to encourage Iowa’s 99 county recorders to defy the Iowa Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.
Well, Iowa State Attorney General Tom Miller ain’t having it. On Tuesday he issued a statement on the Iowan state government website.
We expect duly-elected county recorders to comply with the Iowa Constitution as interpreted unanimously by the Iowa Supreme Court, the highest court in Iowa. Our country lives by and thrives by the rule of law, and the rule of law means we all follow the law as interpreted by our courts — not by ourselves. We don’t each get to decide what the law is; that would lead to chaos. We must live by and follow what the courts decide.
. . . The Court’s ruling applies everywhere in Iowa, in every county. Recorders do not have discretion or power to ignore the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling.
If necessary, we will explore legal actions to enforce and implement the Court’s ruling.
[Iowa Department of Justice]How’s that for keeping the troops in line?
Twitter Users: You can also leave a comment using your Twitter account by clicking the button below.