One Iowa Education Fund

Mary Evans and Stephanie McFarland were both born and raised in Iowa, a state known as much for its fair-minded and thoughtful citizenry as it is for its agriculture. The women met in 1992 at a Catholic Church retreat. Over time, they fell in love, committed to one another, adopted two beautiful daughters and thanks to the Iowa Supreme Court, they became one of the first same-sex couples to get married in the state on May 1, 2009. Mary and Stephanie Evans-McFarland, and their daughters Audrey and Francis, are just like every other American family.

The road to marriage equality in Iowa started in 2005 when a case was brought challenging the state’s ban on marriage by same-sex couples. The prohibition was found unconstitutional by a district court judge in 2007 and marriage applications were given out briefly. Mary and Stephanie were one of the first couples in line for their marriage license application. For the women, marriage meant that the daughters they had adopted at birth would be afforded the same legal protections as the children of other legally married couples. Unfortunately, the judge stayed his decision and the case proceeded to the Iowa Supreme Court.

On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of marriage equality. Stephanie and Mary Evans-McFarland were legally married – this time for keeps – just a few weeks after the ruling in a ceremony attended by their two daughters who acted as their mothers’ attendants. It was a day that Stephanie wished her two parents could have witnessed; both had passed away over the past two years.

Today, the Evans-McFarland family lives in a quiet middle-class suburb of Des Moines. They are much like any other typical American family: work, school and after-school activities consume the family’s life. They would want it no other way.

One Iowa Education Fund was founded in late 2005 after the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling in Alons v. Woodbury County. In that case, several legislators and a church challenged a district court judge’s authority to annul a lesbian couple’s civil union that took place in Vermont. Lambda Legal argued the case and urged the Court to dismiss the lawsuit because the legislators and church had no personal interest in the case and because the family court's decision was proper under Iowa law. The Court’s ruling in favor of the couple, along with Iowa’s long history of being proactive in the area of civil rights, gave Iowans the drive to seek a court challenge of Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

In 2006, the Gill Foundation along with other dedicated funders realized the important, ongoing role Iowa would play in the national debate regarding marriage equality and made the decision to support not only the One Iowa Education Fund, but continued funding Lambda Legal as well.

Over the next four years, One Iowa Education Fund worked to build awareness about the inequality that Iowa’s DOMA created for same sex couples living in the state. Forums hosted by the fund provided a way for local communities to learn about the need for marriage equality from unique perspectives. Couples shared the challenges they faced without legal recognition, faith leaders shared their support from a moral perspective, and parents of gay and lesbian children talked about their hopes to see their son or daughter get married.

During this time, Lambda Legal was working its way through the courts on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking to overturn DOMA. On August 30, 2007 a district court judge ruled that DOMA was indeed unconstitutional and required the Polk County Recorder to issue Marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The same judge placed a stay on his ruling the next day. The case was appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Not wanting to lose momentum before the Supreme Court’s ruling, One Iowa Education Fund helped arrange house parties across the state. These house parties allowed gay and lesbian Iowans to share their story and family lives with their co-workers, neighbors, and legislatures. With materials provided by the organization, supporters showed “Our Story” a short film featuring Iowans sharing their support for equality.

In a unanimous opinion, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality on April 3, 2009. The ruling said in part:

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification. There is no material fact, genuinely in dispute, that can affect this determination."

Those working on behalf of marriage equality knew the key to support was to get Iowans talking to one another. By sparking a statewide conversation about marriage equality, the grassroots support grew. On the court’s decision day thousands of Iowans gathered across the state to celebrate the momentous decision.