KANSAS CITY - Today, U.S. District Court Judge Otrie D. Smith ruled Missouri’s marriage ban unconstitutional. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who personally supports marriage equality, said he will appeal the ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In response, PROMO, Missouri's statewide LGBT advocacy organization, released a petition after his announcement urging Koster to not appeal the decision.
The petition will be circulated to thousands of supporters, and we're asking them to help us reach out to other fair-minded Missourians and send a clear message to Attorney General Chris Koster-- it's time to allow gay and lesbian couples in our state to marry with dignity and security.
A.J. Bockelman, PROMO’s Executive Director concluded, “It’s time that committed couples in Missouri no longer live in a gray area.”
While marriage licenses are already be issued to same-sex couples in Jackson County, the immediate impact of the ruling remains unclear because of Smith’s decision to delay its implementation “until the judgment is final.”
The case started on July 2014, when the ACLU of Missouri filed a case on behalf of two couples who approached Jackson County and were denied a marriage license in Missouri.
“This is a historic day for same-sex couples, who have waited far too long to be able to marry in Missouri,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “It feels great for Missouri to join the mainstream by allowing loving couples to formalize their commitment with marriage.”
This is the second court victory in three days following Wednesday's ruling in Missouri v. Jennifer Florida declaring the state's marriage ban unconstutional thus legalizing same-sex marriage in St. Louis.
Attorney General Koster immediately appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court, saying the constitutional challenge “must be presented to and resolved” at that level. But he said that his office wouldn’t seek a stay of the order, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant stays after similar same-sex marriage decisions.
On Oct. 3, a Kansas City Circuit Court weighed in on Barrier v. Vasterling ruling that same-sex couples married out-of-state must be recognized by the state of Missouri. Koster did not seek an appeal in the case.
Missouri’s Amendment 2, which defines marriage in Missouri as between one man and one woman, was approved by 71 percent of voters in August 2004.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
You can read the full ruling here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1355036-mo-same-sex-marriage.html