Marriage Equality USA

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Current Status

  • Civil marriage equality cannot legally be denied at the state level, via the Supreme Court of the United States, as of 26 June 2015. (Same-sex couples have the legal right to marry.)
  • On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled FOR marriage equality and that same-gender couples have the constitutional right to marry in all 50 states and all U.S. territories.
  • 7 November 2014, U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith struck down the Missouri state marriage ban! See Lawson v. Kelly under LAWSUITS-PENDING below.
  • 1 marriage case in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals; 1 case in the Supreme Court of Missouri; and, 2 cases in state trial court. See LAWSUITS-PENDING below.
  • Both Governor Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster have publicly announced their personal support for marriage equality.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

  • Following the death in 2009 of Cpl. Dennis Engelhard of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, his partner of 15 years, Kelly Glossip, sued the state for survivor benefits. After the trial court dismissed his suit, Glossip appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court. Amicus briefs filed by several Missouri law professors, the mayor of St. Louis, and several state legislators argued that the state's denial of benefits discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and should be reviewed using the heightened scrutiny standard. The court heard arguments in the appeal in February 2013, and ruled against Glossip in October 2013, saying his claim was denied on the basis of his marital status, not his sexual orientation.
  • Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage from 2004 until 2014, per Constitutional Amendment 2.

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