Same-sex marriage in Missouri

Despite the stay, Jackson County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples immediately following the ruling.

[7][8] Missouri statutes prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages validity performed in other jurisdictions, though this provision is now unenforceable.

Oral arguments were held on September 2 before Judge J. Dale Youngs in the Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City.

[14] On October 3, Judge Youngs ruled that Missouri's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions violated the plaintiffs' right to equal protection under both the state and federal constitutions.

[20] On June 24, the ACLU filed Lawson v. Kelly in circuit court on behalf of the two same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses there.

Despite the stay, Jackson County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples immediately following the decision.

[27] On December 8, the same-sex couples also filed a notice of appeal to contest the district court's rejection of their claim of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

[28] On December 10, the couples asked the Eighth Circuit to vacate the district court's stay or hear their appeal on an expedited basis.

[30] The state replied to the couples' motion on December 24, calling the request for expedited consideration premature given the likelihood that in January the U.S. Supreme Court would agree to hear a same-sex marriage case.

[31] On January 9, 2015, the couples asked the Eighth Circuit for a "prompt ruling" on their request, noting that the state had offered no argument against lifting the stay and that the Supreme Court had not accepted a petition for certiorari in a same-sex marriage case that day.

[39] Angie Boyle and Laura Zinszer, together for 19 years, were the first couple to receive a marriage license in Columbia on June 26.

[41] Attorney General Koster reacted to the ruling by stating, "The history of our country has always been one of moving toward inclusion and equality.

[45] Attorney General Koster announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court, but not to seek a stay of the ruling's implementation because "[f]ollowing decisions in Idaho and Alaska, the United States Supreme Court has refused to grant stays on identical facts.

[48] St. Louis County, where an official said "We believe it's a county-by-county decision",[47] began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the next day.

[50] In February 2014, a Boone County judge granted a divorce to two women, Dena and Samantha Latimer, who had married in Massachusetts in 2009.