Judge rules that gay marriage ban in Missouri is unconstitutional

[brooklynite]

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Denying Missouri's gay couples the opportunity to marry is unconstitutional, a judge ruled this afternoon.

As a result, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said in his decision, marriage licenses can be issued.

"The Court finds and declares that any same sex couple that satisfies all the requirements for marriage under Missouri law, other than being of different sexes, is legally entitled to a marriage license," Burlison wrote.

He said that the Missouri Constitution violates the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/judge-rules-that-gay-marriage-ban-in-missouri-is-unconstitutional/article_f9e3bd74-d9bf-5337-ba22-88cd5614e59d.html

---

Flip Missouria and Kansas, and you have a solid line of States from California to Indiana.

[shenmue]

1. Whew

That means a jillion kazillion!

[closeupready]

2. Is there a lesson here for liberals? I mean,

to go from a deeply homophobic country to one in which a majority of jurisdictions put same-sex relationships on the same level as heterosexual ones in a time span of about 15 years is astounding, when you reflect on the amount of time and energy that was needed in order to change public opinion and swing minds in favor of gay people. Could Democrats learn from one of their most loyal constituencies, GLBT people, on how to win?

Anyway, K&R.

[AverageJoe90]

4. I wouldn't say America *as a whole* was *deeply* homophobic in 1999.....

In 1939, maybe. But not in 1999(that doesn't mean that homophobia wasn't still pretty prominent in certain sections of society, though.).

[nomorenomore08]

5. Probably "pretty prominent" outside the deepest-blue metro areas.

Nationwide polls from the mid-90's showed around two-thirds of Americans being opposed to same-sex marriage, with less than 30% in favor.

[AverageJoe90]

6. Which doesn't necessarily equal deep homophobia, btw.

Yes, I know it may be hard to believe for some in our generation but not everybody who opposed same-sex marriage was *necessarily* anti-gay. There were those who may simply have had religious reservations(after all, religious liberalism hadn't entirely died out in the '90s), etc.

[msanthrope]

3. They all fall down. nt