St Louis Takes Major Step For Gay Marriage!
ST LOUIS made a bold statement last night just in time for PRIDE WEEKEND!
St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay announced that marriage licenses were issued to four same-sex couples by St. Louis Recorder of Deeds, Sharon Carpenter, June 25, coinciding with the one year anniversary of the Defense of Marriage Act being struck down. The weddings were performed at the St. Louis City Hall.
“St. Louis is a city that doesn’t tolerate discrimination,” said Slay, standing beside the couples. “We are sending a message on what’s right, and I can’t think of anything more right than this.”
The ceremonies were performed in Mayor Slay’s office. Carpenter issued marriage licenses to the couples following the ceremonies despite Missouri’s 2004 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
“For years I contemplated taking this action, but the the legal climate was never right to take action and take a stand,” said Carpenter. “However, that all changed with the United States Supreme Court decision to rule all citizens have the right to marry under the law.”
“This is a bold move by the Recorder of Deeds, Sharon Carpenter and Mayor Francis Slay,” said A.J. Bockelman, Executive Director of PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization. “With the wave of state after state moving forward on marriage, their move shows that Missouri may not have been the first, but we will certainly not be the last to recognize marriage. We extend a resounding thank you today to these elected officials and the couples involved, all of whom exhibited profiles in courage by taking this action. Effectively they stood together and said it is time to “Show Me Marriage”.”
A lawsuit demanding the recognition of the marriages could be filed as early as this morning.
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