DES MOINES - Within weeks, gay couples will likely begin getting married in Iowa, and advocates on both sides of the issue claim the sight of same-sex unions in the nation's heartland will spur other states to take action.
What's less clear is whether that will lead more states to legalize such marriages or prompt more to amend their constitutions to outlaw the practice.
Supporters and opponents of gay marriage said Saturday they were energized by the Iowa Supreme Court's forceful and unanimous ruling Friday that upheld a 2007 district court decision that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection. The ruling opens the door for gays and lesbians to exchange vows in Iowa as soon as April 24.
''It really adds to momentum in favor of the freedom to marry already under way but now going to a higher level,'' said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a New York City-based group working to win marriage equality nationwide.
''The voice of Iowa is the voice of common sense. The fact of a unanimous court is particularly significant.''
Wolfson said the Iowa court offered a clear, calm message that will resonate with other states.
Jon Davidson, legal director for Lambda Legal, said the Iowa ruling shows the ''trend is going in only one direction.''
''The Iowa decision adds to the momentum of people thinking about what equality means and in the re-energizing of the advocates for same-sex couples being able to marry.''
The New York-based gay rights organization filed a lawsuit on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples in Iowa. Some of their children also were named in the suit.
''There is certainly strong opposition with 29 states amending their constitution,'' Davidson said. ''But this case will provide additional momentum and we can see the day where same-sex marriage is allowed throughout the United States. People are coming to understand that this is inevitable.''
Rather than agreeing same-sex marriage is inevitable, opponents said the Iowa court decision would be a warning to other states that haven't enacted constitutional amendments.
''This (ruling) will catapult all of those states forward in the marriage amendment process,'' said Douglas Napier, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
''I think they're going to work hard to get it on their constitution before another renegade court goes out and creates new law,'' he said.
The court's decision makes Iowa the third state to allow same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts and Connecticut. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November. The Vermont Legislature is moving toward approving a same-sex marriage bill, but the state's governor has promised to veto the measure.
Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage, said the Iowa decision has put the state in uncharted waters, and other states should take heed.
''Other states may very well look at that experience and conclude that likewise they need to be proactive and prepare their constitution to reflect the will of the people,'' he said.
Napier said his group's efforts aren't targeting same-sex couples, but promoting traditional families.
''It's sad to see them celebrate for something they think is giving them which will not deliver. You can call it whatever you want to. You can call it marriage. But they're not getting marriage. They're getting a counterfeit. A counterfeit will never satisfy in the same way,'' he said.
