The state Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow from a same-sex couple that doesn’t want to get married, but to split up.

The Missouri Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City

The Missouri Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City

Two men who got married in Iowa two years ago later separated and say they can’t reconcile their differences. When one of them filed a petition for a dissolution of marriage in St. Louis County, the court dismissed it saying it doesn’t have jurisdiction or authority due to Missouri’s laws and constitutional ban against recognizing same sex marriage. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled.

One of the two men argues the court does have jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage as a civil law matter. He also argues no statutes nor the constitutional ban prevent it from dealing with the petition and says if they do, that violates his constitutional equal protection rights.

He and several organizations including the ACLU, the Washington University Law School Child & Family Advocacy Clinic, and state gay rights organization PROMO, argue denying a same-sex couple the right to divorce is discriminatory.

No one is presenting a counter-argument, but the man who brought the case must still prove his positions against Missouri law and the Constitution to win his argument against the lower court.