Did Reynolds Administration violate Iowa's constitution at the Iowa State Fair?

Bob Krause | Iowa View contributor

Courage was on display in the Democratic veterans’ response when the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs (ICVA) vetoed the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus parade entry at the Iowa State Fair Veterans Parade. Rightfully, they protested. But was it about freedom?

I maintain that “yes.” It was about freedom. The ICVA is part of the Reynolds Administration, and is subject to the Constitution of Iowa, Article 1, Section 7:

“Liberty of speech and press. Section 7. Every person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press ...”

So, is the claimed legal authority the ICVA just plain wrong? Yes. Any state legal device, rule or law claimed to abridge the free speech of the Democratic veterans at the Iowa State Fair parade falls before the Constitution. And the rule prohibiting partisan or political displays in the parade is unconstitutional.

But were that not the case – had the constitutionally mandated freedom not been there – was it still wrong? Yes. We must remember that journalists without freedom of speech are merely a conduit for what they see. If they do not see a certain veterans’ group in a parade or otherwise, they cannot write about it, and blinders are effectively placed on the freedom of the press. For us as veterans, a longstanding precedent was violated and there was a general sense of a loss of fair play. We as veterans sought unity with other veterans through our march in the parade. We marched as an act of respect for veterans from all services and advocacies – as equals. But we were singled out to shut up – to not participate. If it stands, we will have lost our voice on a very visible platform.

As a veteran, that is the worst example for veterans that one can make – that it is somehow wrong for a veteran to participate in our two-party democratic system. This is what the ban on marching was about – the stifling of dissent. Why would one not want diversity of thought and opinion, unless it was a thought and opinion with which you disagreed?

So we were singled out among the many activist groups and candidates at the fair. And why? Perhaps the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus was just too visible in a potentially bad year for the GOP. Kim Reynolds’ weak poll numbers have Republicans worried. Worried politicians tend to over-react – not unlike President Trump has done on the national level.

So think about it. The veterans of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus have marched in this parade with no challenges over a 10-year span. But suddenly they are political? It is too bad the Reynolds Administration has been swept up in Trump’s swing to authoritarianism. The lines of political decorum have shifted. Things that no one would have considered ethical or fair years ago are now cropping up on a state as well as a national setting.

Section 7 of Iowa’s Constitution of 1857 is a very clear clarion call for freedom of speech, and it was not heeded. Freedom of speech is the bedrock upon which all our other freedoms are based. As veterans, we fought for it once. Now we will fight for it again.

Bob Krause is an Army Reserve retired colonel. He was founding chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus, was to have marched in the parade, and participated in the silent protest.



