GOP lawmakers seek to impeach remaining Supreme Court justices

Three new Republican legislators are seeking to remove four Iowa Supreme Court justices who supported a unanimous 2009 ruling legalizing gay marriage.

Kim Pearson, elected to the House in November, said Friday she's drafting an impeachment measure because she thinks the court exceeded its authority when it struck down a law defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

To succeed, the measure would need approval by a simple House majority and two-thirds in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, a Democrat, says judges can be impeached only if they are guilty of crimes or malfeasance. He questions whether Republicans can argue the justices are guilty of those offenses.

Voters in November removed three justices in retention elections after a campaign focused on the gay marriage ruling.