Justice David Wiggins is the focus of November’s judge retention vote. And Wiggins’ 2009 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage is the reason many will vote “no” on retaining him.

But it doesn’t have to be the only reason. The Iowa State Bar Association gave Wiggins only a 63 percent approval rating, while the three other judges (removed in 2010) scored above 90 percent (www.iowabar.org/associations/4664/files/2012%20Judicial%20Review%20Web.pdf).

Some may vote “no” on retaining Wiggins because of his performance record. But many will vote against him because they hold the same conviction about marriage that President Obama professed when he first sought the presidency in 2008: that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

Michael Mallie

Kalona