SIOUX CITY, IOWA - Jason Morgan and Chuck Swaggerty have been together for eight years.They have their own home and they go to church together on Sundays. But most of all, the two Sioux City men said they want to seal their commitment to one another through marriage.
"We love each other," Morgan said. "We want and we need the same protections, rights and responsibilities that come with that kind of relationship, like any loving couple should have."
A lawsuit filed Tuesday by a gay rights organization in Polk County District Court asking for the right to marry for same-sex couples may help that happen. Morgan and Swaggerty are one of six couples listed in the lawsuit, which was filed by Lamba Legal.
Lambda Legal, the organization that spearheaded the same-sex marriage drive across the country, said it wants full recognition of the civil rights of gay couples.
"There are thousands of couples in Iowa who are eager for the protections and security that come with marriage," Camilla Taylor, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "They are willing to take on the responsibilities and obligations as well. ...They shouldn't have to wait any longer," she said.
The group will argue that the state constitution's equal protection and due process clauses make it unlawful for the state to bar same-sex couples from marrying. They plan to take the case to the Iowa Supreme Court if necessary.
Morgan said he and Swaggerty decided to join the lawsuit because they have been in contact with Lamba Legal for a few years on LGBT equality issues through their work with the local group Community Alliance for Equality, including an attempt to add sexual orientation to Sioux City's discrimination ordinance.
"There are many times in your life where you have to take a risk, to do what is right," he said. "We are seeking equality. For us it's just a very logical thing to do."
One reason the protection of marriage is needed, Morgan said, is so family connections in same-sex commitments can be recognized.
When Swaggerty's mother passed away suddenly this year, Morgan said he wasn't able to take paid bereavement leave from his new job to attend the funeral 10 hours away because Swaggerty and his mother were not technically part of Morgan's family. Upon returning from the funeral, he said he received a mark on his personnel record for an unexcused absence.
"I really don't blame my employer for giving only married couples those rights," said Morgan, who did not want to reveal his employer's name. "I'm saying it's time the government gives us the right to marry so we can have the same rights as any married couple."
Morgan said the case will definitely have an impact on other gay or lesbian couples in the Sioux City area who wish to be married, as well as people who support their efforts for equality.
from Sioux City Journal
Equality for everybody!
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