Justice Wiggins’ Biggest Obstacle to Winning Retention Vote, Himself

Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins spoke to the Des Moines Rotary Club last week, presumably in an effort to seek support for his forthcoming retention vote. One can understand why Wiggins might come to my Club, affectionately referred to as a group of old men and their fathers. He is the fourth Justice to stand for retention since the Court ruled on marriage. The other three were tossed from the bench. He was looking for votes. I doubt he won many last Thursday.

Justice David S. Wiggins

Justice Wiggins is a lousy public speaker. To make matters worse, he has adopted a condescending tone.

He opened by stating he would not be hanging around afterwards to talk – he wanted to spend time with his grandson. He repeated this three times during his 20 minutes at the microphone. I am all for a guy who places family first, but when seeking votes it is prudent for a candidate to soft pedal how disinterested he is in interacting with the those who cast them. Rotary starts at noon and concludes by 1:00 p.m. 99% of the time. It is hardly a huge time commitment. If appearing was such a burden on his schedule, Wiggins should have turned down the invitation.

Justice Wiggins gave a sleepy lecture about the three branches of government – he laid out the whole separation of powers thing. I am guessing everybody in the room has a solid grasp on the American and Iowa systems of government. He did not address the elephant in the room (pun explicitly intended), the ruling that allowed same sex partners to marry. Like a grandfather talking to a child, he explained how a judge must interpret whether laws conform to the Iowa and U.S. Constitutions based on the facts of the case he is hearing. A judge’s political views have to be put aside while discharging his duties. We understood that before we got there.

Justice Wiggins missed an opportunity to connect with a few hundred Iowans last Thursday. Instead of presenting his credentials, sharing his passion for the important position he feels fortunate to fill, or explaining his approach to being a Justice; he talked down to his well-educated audience. Come on, counselor, present your case.

To a point, I understand why Justice Wiggins feels he needs to teach on this subject. While those who disagree with the marriage ruling are well within their rights to work to amend the Constitution, their efforts to punish those who made the ruling are misguided. The folks who feel the solution is punishing Wiggins and others clearly don’t understand the first thing about what makes our American system great.

I plan to vote for David Wiggins even though he is a poor orator and does not understand how to win votes. The question for the electorate is whether David Wiggins has honestly and fairly discharged his duties as a Justice. He has. Justice Wiggins and the others on the Supreme Court did their job. They ruled on marriage without influence and in good conscience. By all accounts Wiggins is an impartial and thoughtful jurist. He should remain on the Court.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.

Life and Death in an Unequal America

I try to convince myself things have changed – the halls and paths my kids walk are different, more tolerant and welcoming than the ones I took. They are in many ways, but the recent suicide deaths of four gay teens in the United States highlight the struggles too many still face.

Yesterday Ellen DeGeneres made a plea for change.  Ellen tried to tell those who feel alone and hopeless that she stands with them.  We need to spread her message and let those who suffer the taunts and aggression of bullies and idiots know we have their backs and are working to make this world a better place.  Minds and the world will change if we act.

Congress has yet to overturn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), the silly law that says gays may serve in the military only if they hide their sexuality.  The Iowa Supreme Court ruling determining that the Iowa Constitution prohibits discrimination and, therefore, any couple can marry regardless of their sex has created a political effort to unseat the Justices who stand for retention at the ballot box next month.  A plan to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero in New York resulted in a controversy that continues to be discussed today in cafes, living rooms and radio programs thousands of miles from Manhattan.  This quick sampling of issues demonstrates that tolerance, fairness and equality are at the center of political debate today.

I have heard one theme alarmingly often in recent weeks during personal conversations, on television and printed in the media.  At some point in a discussion about DADT one participant dismissed the topic with “this is not on my list of hot issues, so I have not followed it.”  Later, the topic was same sex marriage and somebody said, “I am not sure why we spend so much time talking about such a small percentage of the population.”  Next, during a conversation about Islam in America another uttered “listen, I don’t know much about it, but they (Muslims) have to realize that their rights have to take a backseat this time.”

Hold on.  An act of discrimination, hatred, or unfairness does not become less despicable because you don’t know a victim, it only impacts a small group or because another wrong was committed.

Some 14,000 service men and women have been discharged from the military since DADT was instituted.  This equates to ONLY a single battalion of trained professional soldiers, but at the same time it equates to an ENTIRE battalion of trained professional soldiers.  DADT has impacted the lives of 14,000 patriotic Americans and we have cast aside their talents and contributions to our own detriment.

Equally, freedom of religion is more than a quaint concept that says you may worship Christianity as you please.  The rights of our neighbors and countrymen cannot be hindered because where, what, how and if they practice religion.  A few nuts calling themselves Muslims committed a heinous crime against humanity – this does not allow us to say to a group of Americans who do not share this hatred that their rights must take a backseat for a while.

We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to bullying, intolerance, hatred, and inequality.  If we fail to protect the freedom and rights of a few, America becomes less than it was intended to be.

The good news is that the solution is easy.  You don’t have to do much.  Have a conversation with your kids, your co-workers and your elected officials.  Let them know you expect them to stand up for every American’s rights.  Make a pledge to never again look the other way when somebody is mistreated.

It is not acceptable for us to permit inequity because most of us are unaffected.  Four teenagers took their lives in recent days because they could not face being ostracized by members of their communities.  Four is not many, but it is too many.

(Contact Graham Gillette at grahamgillette@gmail.com)
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Equality is NOT a Ballot Issue

This week marks the anniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage. The ruling touched off a sometimes rancorous political debate that promises to continue for years to come. I have heard some say that Iowa and our country are not ready for this debate. I have to agree that the marriage question has brought out the worst in some people, but it also has shown us at our best. I recognize gay marriage makes some people uncomfortable, but the time to end marriage discrimination in this country is now.

Perennial gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats has built the foundation for his campaign on the issue. The Iowa Republican puts it this way, “For much of 2009, Bob Vander Plaats focused on one issue – gay marriage.” For an entire year, nothing was more important to him. And, political rhetoric, some of it absurd, has not been confined to Iowa. J.D. Hayworth, Senator John McCain’s opponent in Arizona, drew a bizarre picture that same sex marriage is a step toward a man being able to marry his horse. Four time Iowa governor and returning candidate Terry Branstad has found it difficult to juggle this issue at all, stumbling over it numerous times.

Branstad and some who are even more vocal about ending same sex marriage are trying to build a case for letting the people decide by forcing a statewide or national vote on marriage. There is much hot air about how letting the Supreme Court ruling stand without a Constitutional question being put to the voters is tantamount to creating a judicial oligarchy. They argue the people should decide. When you take two steps back from this argument, it is laughable. The Iowa Legislature passed a law that defined marriage as one man and one woman. The people never voted on it. Last April, the Court found this legislative action to be in conflict with the Iowa Constitution.

It is not that the question of marriage is so big that it demands a vote of the people. What is at stake is bigger than marriage, something more important than an issue to be decided by a simple and single vote of the people.

This week, Governor Chet Culver made his strongest statement on the matter to date. He said a vote was unnecessary. “I think the overwhelming majority of Iowans do not want to amend our constitution in such a way that’s discriminatory. That’s the bottom line,” explained Culver. He was trying, I guess, but this statement proves the Governor also misunderstands this issue. It has nothing to do with the latest public opinion survey.

Our state and national constitutions were established on the most basic of underpinnings, we are equals. We are entitled to the same rights and protections under the law. There is no litmus test to determine who among us is ‘more equal,’ who among us is be entitled to own property, speak freely, or get married.

I got to marry the person I love, the person I chose to marry and the person who chose to marry me. No law or constitutional amendment can be written to say two other people can be denied the same ability because they share the same type of human plumbing, for doing so would violate the most basic tenet of our state and national constitutions. We are equals. Our sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, political belief and any other thing that makes us who we are cannot change that fact. If our Legislature passes a law that says differently, it violates our Constitution and should be struck down. If a ballot measure is passed by the electorate that says one segment of our population is not entitled to the same rights as another, the Court should invalidate it. If we say that it is OK for one couple to marry because they are straight, but it is unacceptable for another to marry because they are gay, we invalidate the very Constitution which created Iowa and the one that formed the greatest country on earth.

Tomorrow, many will gather to celebrate the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on marriage. I wish them well, but I hope they will pause for a moment in their revelry to realize that this is not a gay issue. This is not about marriage. This is about equality for all.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Checks, Check, Please – A Game of Gubernatorial Proportions

Culver Asks for Checks, Please
The Culver Campaign is reaching deep. Word has it the Governor himself is calling down a list of former Vilsack donors seeking campaign contributions. Yes, money fuels a campaign, but I find it interesting the Governor is spending time cold calling for dollars. The Governor might be better off spending time raising his visibility. Poll after poll indicates Culver lacks in that department. Maybe he is the Iowa version of the groundhog – upon sticking his head out into the winter air, the Governor saw his shadow and retreated for six more weeks of phone calling before campaign season begins.

Vander Plaats Asked for Check, Please
Perennial gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats is going to be waiting tables between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. today at the Applebee’s in Fort Dodge. As a PR guy, I know gimmicks can work. However, this one is so flawed it is laughable. According to the Vander Plaats machine, he wants to work alongside Iowans so he can better understand their jobs and concerns. OK, but I would suggest if Mr. Vander Plaats wants insight into food service, he consider sticking with the job for more than 90 minutes and waiting tables when more than a handful of diners are present. What’s next? Is he going to teach school during recess?

Branstad, Please
A couple weeks ago Todd Dorman interviewed former Governor Terry Branstad. Dorman asked what about gay and lesbian marriage made Branstad uncomfortable. Branstad responded, “Well, it’s got to do with the whole structure of the American society. And, uh, a lot of people say when other ancient societies have gone this direction, it was the beginning of the end of their society.” Awkward and odd. In answering a subsequent question, Branstad mentioned a former employee whose gay son and “friend” have adopted children. According to Branstad, the very conservative religious woman had difficulty dealing “when this became the situation.” Like the White person who wanted to be seen as open minded during the Civil Rights Movement by saying “some of my best friends are Black,” Branstad said he knows conservative religious people who are related to gays. It is possible in constructing this verbal twofer Branstad offended both gays and the religious right. I know this topic makes you uncomfortable, Governor Branstad, but please.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.