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Unfortunately, the language prohibiting marriage equality in Missouri will remain in place.
Rep. Tracy McCreery
It’s not for lack of trying. Rep. Tracy McCreery has filed an amendment to House Revision Bill 1 that is made to remove parts of the law that are outdated.
“I want Missouri to be a place where people can live and work and go to school and love whoever they want to love,” McCreery said. “I think that by striking this antiquated language it sends a message that the legislature is trying to make Missouri a more welcoming place.”
As a reminder, at the moment, Missouri law states that “any purported marriage not between a man and a woman is invalid” and that same-sex marriage licenses cannot be issued in the state.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well in the House.
Legislators rejected the amendment as violating procedure, as House Revision Bill 1 cannot be amended on the House floor.
Republican representatives invited the amendment’s supporters to introduce a bill instead of an amendment, but if they introduced a bill, legislators would immediately send it to a House committee where it would quietly go to die as McCreery explained.
“If I had a bill that would propose that (striking the statute), the bill would not get a hearing, and it would just be referred to a committee on the last day of session,” McCreery said. “So I don’t have any pathway for this.”
She continued: “The reason I keep trying is because I think every year that goes by, more and more of my colleagues realize that Missouri does not want to have the reputation of being a state where people can’t get married to the people they love.”
Of course, the law banning marriage for same-sex couples is no longer applicable since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize marriage equality across the country, but it’s still a long way off for Missouri to clean up its past as a state that discriminates against LGBTQ couples.
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