Iowa’s Republican-led Supreme Court overturned a gay man’s $4.6 million anti-discrimination payout

Godfrey’s appointment by the state’s previous Democratic governor was meant to last six years as a way to make his work non-political. However, Branstad retaliated by cutting Godfrey’s pay from $112,000 to $72,000, the lowest amount allowed by law. He also cut the funding for Godfrey’s office.

Godfrey said that Branstad had targeted him because he disapproved of his gayness. In 2019, a jury agreed with Godfrey, adding that Branstad had also targeted him for being a Democrat. The jury awarded Godfrey $1.5 million in damages for emotional distress and $3.1 million for legal expenses.

However, Branstad appealed the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, where, in 2010, voters replaced three justices who voted to legalize same-sex marriage the year before. The court is now more conservative-leaning. Studies have shown that judges who are elected rather than appointed for set terms are more likely to rule against LGBTQ rights in order to appease voters.

Branstad’s argument in the Supreme Court was essentially that he didn’t realize Godfrey was gay, and that the governor couldn’t have been anti-gay because his administration hired other gay people. But the first part of Branstad’s argument makes little sense considering the amount of public press coverage celebrating Godfrey’s appointment as one of the state’s first openly gay public officials.