Gay Marriage in the Midwest

Why Iowa Kicks California's Toned, Tanned Tushie

We used to be the shizzle. Remember? For decades, California was the nation's pacesetter. The birthplace of Barbie, blue jeans, and the birth control pill, the Golden State prided itself on dragging the rest of the nation into tomorrow. Or, at the very least, into Tomorrowland.

Faced with decisions like, "Shall we elect a glute-flexing cyborg as governor?" and "Should we light up the country's first medical marijuana initiative?" we grinned our laidback grins, sipped our Left Coast syrah, and said, "Sure! Why not?"

We were the heralds of "hot." The harbingers of "hip." But no more.

Last week, our high court handed that mantle over to a pot-bellied, farm-belt state called Iowa. Perhaps you've heard of it. Whereas California's Supreme Court voted to uphold a ban on gay marriage, Iowa has been marrying gays since April.

They're not the only ones. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont have given their blessings to gay nuptials, too.

But Iowa? The court's decision was unanimous, and emphatic. Stephen Colbert joked that the ruling makes sense. "There's nothing else to do in Iowa: shuck corn, drag race, pound a sixer, shuck more corn, propose to your football coach."

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