The State Senate has finished work on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages in Missouri. If the House approves the bill, voters will be asked in November to define marriage in Missouri as being between a man and a woman. No homosexual marriages would be allowed. But opponents say this proposal will not stop married homosexuals from living in the state, because Missouri must recognize relationships that are legal in other states – and other states have civil union laws which legitimate homosexual relationships. A supporter of the amendment, conservative Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau, says the state would not be making this move if it were not for liberal, Democrat, judges. But opponent Patrick Dougherty of St.Louis, a liberal, says the phrase “activist judges” cuts both ways – although conservatives don’t like to talk about the ones that benefit them. Supporters say the definition of marriage in state law is not enough, that putting the definition in the state constitution will make it harder for courts to throw out the standard.
