Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, you have recently called upon the people of Iowa to contact you regarding whether or not the Iowa Senate should pursue the impeachment of the remaining Iowa Supreme Court justices who struck down the ban on gay marriage. You have provided your e-mail address — [email protected] — so that we might get in touch with you.

I vehemently protest the impeachment of the judges. To impeach the judges for the ruling that equal protection forbids a ban on same-sex marriage would be an attack on the institution of the judiciary. The judges are meant to be merit-based, non-political entities; a check against the potentially oppressive will of the majority. Impeaching the judges because some or even most Iowans disagree with their interpretation of the Constitution would further politicize the Iowa Supreme Court, and would make the meaning of the law subject to the whim of the crowd.

I find it irresponsible of you to outsource a decision of this magnitude to whomever takes the time to respond to you. Is it not enough that Iowans vote on judge retention on our election ballots? Perhaps you believe that if “the people” want our justices impeached for political reasons, that those reasons somehow become validated through popularity. Speaker Paulsen, no matter how many Iowans want the judges impeached, the character of a decision to do so remains the same.

It is not my intention to open a debate about the civil rights issue called “gay marriage,” I do not think it is an issue in this decision. I understand that a great deal of Iowans, citizens and senators alike, hold deeply rooted moral positions against same-sex marriage. While I do not respect such positions, I do respect the institution of the judiciary and its autonomy from political concerns, and I would not support the impeachment of the justices for arriving at a particular ruling of any kind, so long as it were legal.

It is understandable that you want to attend to the concerns of your constituents morally outraged by what they perceive to be an attack upon the traditional family structure. Doing so is your job as an elected official, but please resist the urge to denigrate the judiciary as you pursue a partisan agenda, or any political agenda for that matter. You have the power to legislate all kinds of provisions to ensure to preservation of the traditional family structure, and if that is your prerogative, you can easily pursue it without a ban on same-sex marriage.

Speaker Paulsen, no matter what ideological side you are on, this civil rights issue does not eclipse the importance of maintaining the impartial, disinterested institution of the court. Political issues come and go, but our institutions must endure if our laws are to mean anything. Please follow the example of Terry Branstad and pursue constructive, legislative paths to your policy goals rather than attempting to destroy the integrity and autonomy of the Iowa Supreme Court by impeaching competent justices.