Republican lawmakers in Missouri plan to appeal a judge's ruling requiring the US state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
According to The Kansas Star, Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey and House Speaker Tim Jones filed a motion on 3 December. The hope is to eventually take the case to the state Supreme Court.
This past October, Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs ruled the marriages of 10 same-sex couples, married in other states, be validated by Missouri.
The case is called Barrier v. Vasterling and was filed in February by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.
State Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, decided not to appeal Youngs' decision. However, Koster is fighting to keep the state's ban intact.
Early last month, District Court Judge Ortrie D. Smith's ruled against the prohibition.
Democrat state Representative Mike Colona criticized the Republican maneuver.
'Our statewide elected chief lawyer for the State of Missouri, Attorney General Chris Koster, made a legal determination that the State of Missouri should not appeal the court’s decision in Barrier,' Colona said in a release on the ACLU Missouri website
'That decision rests solely with the office of Attorney General,' Colona continued. 'We should respect the decision of a co-equal branch of government and we as a General Assembly should not intervene in the legal process without first having debated the issue and authorizing such intervention.'
Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri, agreed.
'Both the legal court and the court of public opinion are in agreement that all legal marriages must be recognized by the state of Missouri,' Mittman said in a statement. 'What’s more, actively working to take rights away from loving families is not in keeping with the values of Missourians.'
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