Representative Mike Colona (D-St. Louis) says he doesn’t think there is any legal question about the executive order filed by the governor regarding same-sex joint state tax filings.

Representative Mike Colona (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Mike Colona (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

A fellow lawmaker, Representative Nick Marshall (R-Parkville), has filed two articles of impeachment against Governor Jay Nixon (D) for issuing that order, alleging Nixon mislead Missourians in saying the action was necessary, and that Nixon violated the state Constitution.

Colona thinks the legislature is not the place to bring up the issues Marshall seeks to raise.

“I’m from St. Louis,” Colona asserts, “and we might have a few things going on here like, oh I don’t know, a school transfer issue, a school district that’s about to go bankrupt, we’ve had two public health clinics closed because we haven’t expanded Medicaid, yet we’re supposed to take the time to do something like this in the General Assembly?

“If Representative Marshall thinks that this is truly an issue where the Governor has overstepped his bounds, then the true forum for this should be the courts, not in an impeachment hearing in the General Assembly.”

Colona, who is openly gay, says he doesn’t feel personally slighted by the actions of his fellow lawmaker, Marshall.

“I don’t feel as if I’m being personally attacked. Representative Marshall is an attorney, he’s a prosecutor and to use the vernacular language, he doesn’t pull any cheap shots. I don’t think he holds any animosity toward the LGBT community.”

Colona calls the situation an opportunity for education, particularly if the issue reaches the House Floor, but he questions whether it will go that far.

Listen to the interview with Mike Colona: 9:59

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Two articles of impeachment filed against Governor Nixon (AUDIO/COPY OF THE ARTICLES)

Articles of impeachment filed against Governor Nixon over action on same-sex tax filing

Governor’s Office, state lawmakers react to impeachment effort