news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050617/ap_on_re_us/lesbian_divorce
AP Court Won't Challenge Civil Union Ruling By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 17,12:08 PM ET DES MOINES, Iowa - The state Supreme Court refused Friday to tamper with a lower-court decision that dissolved the civil union of two women, sayi ng the conservatives who sued were not harmed and had no standing in the case.
Click Here The high court noted that it was not judging the merits of the claims by the legal arm of the Des Moines-based Iowa Family Policy Center, a churc h and a handful of state legislators. "Rather, our task is to determine whether these plaintiffs are the proper parties to bring this action," the court wrote. Their lawsuit challenged a ruling by Judge Jeffrey Neary that let Kimberl y Jean Brown end her civil union with Jennifer Sue Perez. The plaintiffs argued that the judge had overstepped his authority by rec ognizing gay marriage, but the Supreme Court disagreed. "We fail to see how the district court's action in dissolving a civil uni on of another couple harmed in any specific way these plaintiffs' marria ges and for this reason, they have shown no legally recognized interest or personal stake in the underlying action," the high court said. The court also rejected an argument by Matthew Wentz, pastor of the Churc h of Christ in Le Mars, that the decision threatened his ability as a mi nister to solemnize marriages. Messages left Friday for officials with the Iowa Family Policy Center and three state lawmakers who were plaintiffs in the case were not immediat ely returned. The judge, who won a retention vote last fall, declined to comment on Fri day's ruling.
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