Mon. September 24, 2012
Des Moines, IA -
Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, flanked by conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats were in Des Moines, IA this morning to kick off a 17-city, week long bus tour in an effort to unseat Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins.
Titled "No Wiggins" and organized by Iowans for Freedom, a spin-off of the conservative group the Family Leader, the tour's objective is to get voters to vote "no" for retaining Wiggins in the November election.
Conservatives led by Vander Plaats were successful in unseating three Supreme Court justices in 2010. The backlash against the justices emanated from the unanimous Iowa court ruling in 2009 which ultimately legalized gay marriage in the state.
"If they‘ll redefine the institution of marriage, then they wont blink an eye take when they take away your private property, when they take away your guns... when they take away your freedom of religion or freedom of speech," Vander Plaats said.
The Iowa State Bar Association leadership has rented a mobile media truck to travel to the 17 Iowa cities and towns, which are being visited by the Family Leader organization as part of its vote no on Justice Wiggins tour. The purpose of the "Yes Iowa Judges" tour is to give Iowans the truth about the state's judges and judicial system as a counter-balance to the misinformation promulgated by Vander Plaats and the Family Leader.
"God bless Bob Vander Plaats, Mr. Santorum and others, but I'm afraid they're misinformed," said Guy Cook, a Des Moines lawyer and president-elect of the Iowa State Bar Association. "We don't want to return to the days where politics have been injected into our system, and remove the fair and impartial courts that we have, well-respected throughout this country."
This morning, One Iowa Executive Director Donna Red Wing issued a statement:
"This bus tour is a shameless exploitation of Iowa families. When the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for loving and committed couples, the court upheld the promise of equal protection in the constitution. They did their jobs and protected Iowans—ALL Iowans—from discrimination. And they are under attack just because Mr. Vander Plaats, and well-funded out-of-state groups don't support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Iowans.
"We know that marriage equality is about people and that the Varnum decision was about justice. This bus tour is politics at its worst.
"Iowans are fair-minded and this brand of political posturing is not only distasteful, it is shameful. Our courts are supposed to uphold the constitution--not play politics. We urge voters to turn over their ballots on November 6 and protect our fair courts from Bob Vander Plaats."
One Iowa's mission is to support full equality for LGBT individuals living in Iowa through grassroots efforts and education. It was organized in 2005.
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