Judge rules that Missouri’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional

ST. LOUIS – A judge overturned Missouri’s ban on gay marriage on Wednesday in a ruling that could add the state to a growing list of those where same-sex marriages are legal.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said in a written ruling that Missouri’s measure recognizing marriage only between a man and woman violates the due process and equal protection rights of the U.S. Constitution.

Many lawsuits against gay marriage bans in the U.S. have been based on arguments that led the Supreme Court last year to overturn part of the federal Defence of Marriage Act that denied a range of tax, health and veterans benefits to legally married gay couples. Since then, there have been an avalanche of legal victories for gay marriage proponents across the U.S. Same-sex matrimony is now legal in 32 states and the District of Columbia capital district.

Missouri Attorney General Chris 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 same-sex marriage decisions in Idaho and Alaska.

The ruling set off a rush among some same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses.

Kelley Harris and Kelly Barnard drove immediately to St. Louis recorder of deed’s office at City Hall to apply for a marriage license. They called a photographer to record the event and planned to invite friends to attend an impromptu ceremony at a local park. The couple had held an unofficial wedding ceremony in 2003.

“We’ve already been living as a married couple — we have children, we have family — so it would be nice to have the legal backing,” said Harris, accompanied by her mother and the couple’s 4-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.

The city of St. Louis issued a handful of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in June, setting up a court case over the state’s 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Assistant Attorney General Jeremiah Morgan argued that 71 per cent of Missourians voted for the referendum defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and he said the U.S. Supreme Court has time and again allowed states to define marriage.

St. Louis City Counselor Winston Calvert countered that the existing law treats same-sex couples as “second-class citizens.” He said an increasing number of states are allowing gay couples to wed, including most of the states surrounding Missouri.

It was the second defeat for Missouri gay marriage opponents in recent months. Earlier, a judge ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states.