Litigation

IA Pastor Pledges to Defy U.S. Law

By Peter Hardin

The Rev. Cary K. Gordon of Iowa (photo at right) is pledging to openly defy federal law when he urges his congregation to vote to remove three state Supreme Court justices in November retention elections.

“Dear God,” a Des Moines Register article quotes Gordon as saying in prayer, “please allow the IRS to attack my church, so I can take them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The Sioux City pastor’s pledge is but one indication of the heated climate over a campaign to oust three justices who participated in a high court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa (for background, see Gavel Grab). Despite Gordon’s pledge, and his statement that many other Iowa pastors will take aim at the court in their churches, many religious leaders said they would keep their silence.

In other developments:

• Bob Vander Plaats, a leader of the movement to deny the three justices’ reelection, spoke supportively of Gordon’s Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, according to an Iowa Independent article.
• Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, wrote a commentary in the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil entitled, “Remove Supreme Court Justices.” He said, “[I]t?s time to put the control of all three branches of government back in the hands of the people.”
• A KCCI 8 report was headlined, “Judicial Vote May not Impact Gay Marriage.” “Judicial battle heating up in final weeks” was the headline of a report in the Marshalltown Times Republican.

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 11, 2010 (boomark / email).