Missouri’s Attorney General Beats Back Republican Challengers Over Same-Sex Marriage
Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster‘s fundraising has surpassed the combined total of all of his Republican opponents in the Missouri governor race according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethic Commission in May 2016.
Koster, who raised over $2 million in cash during the first quarter, beat his four Republican rivals who raised an aggregate of just under $2 million. Koster’s war chest now totals over $7 million — larger than any of his GOP opponents.
The state’s primary is August 2nd.
Koster appears to have beaten back religious intolerance in America’s “Show Me State”. Just two years ago, Republicans had all but brandished pitchforks as they tried to demonize Koster for his apparent support of same-sex marriage.
When Koster, a Democrat, took a stand on same-sex marriage in 2014, several of Missouri’s leading Republicans blasted him. At the time, it was unclear what Koster’s critics plan to do about it. Two years later, observers are still wondering.
Missouri’s Senate President Pro-Tem, Tom Dempsey, a Republican from St. Charles, highlighted the conservative dilemma: “Having disregarded the voice of the people, it is unlikely that he [Koster] will pay attention to the legislature.”
Koster pointed to a legal argument for his decision: “Our federal government is based on principles of federalism — a system which permits Missouri to establish policy for itself without disregarding the need to honor contracts entered into in other states. Missouri will be a state of inclusion — not exclusion.”
Koster’s critics pointed to that last sentence as “proof” that the attorney general was playing politics. A former St. Charles Executive, Joe Ortwerth, a Republican, now leading the Missouri Family Policy Council, said at the time that Koster failed to fulfill his constitutional duty to as to “appease progressive Democrats.”
Much of the anger directed towards Koster may be rooted in his public criticism of the Republican Party’s stand on social justice issues when he abandoned the GOP in 2007.
“Hopefully, the GOP will erase the discriminatory language from the party’s platform,” said Koster.
Missouri History
The serial bigotry creates transparency in Missouri where a hodgepodge of laws regulate same-sex marriage. Here is a short history:
- In 2003, Missouri citizens passed a constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage.
- In 2013, the state’s Supreme Court ordered that the surviving partner in a same-sex marriage was not eligible for survivor privileges.
- Also in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held DOMA — Defense of Marriage Act — unconstitutional. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon published an executive order demanding the state’s Department of Revenue to receive jointly registered returns from same-sex couples.
- In 2014, Mayor Francis Slay, joined four same-sex twosomes at City Hall.
- October 2014 saw Jackson County judge, J. Dale Youngs, ruled Missouri had to acknowledge same-sex marriages which had been conducted out of state.
- November 2014 — a St Louis circuit judge ruled that the state’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage defied the U.S. Constitution’s clause of equal protection.
Not everyone celebrated the ruling. Joe Ortwerth, President of Missouri Family Policy Council, called the decision a “reckless ruling that will have calamitous repercussions on the destiny of our nation.”
Koster applauded the court for its “courage and sense of fairness.
“Missourians should be viewed as equals under the law despite of their gender, race, or who they love,” Koster said.