She, and seven fellow Democratic lawmakers, say that religious organizations are already protected from hosting same-sex weddings by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and that the wording of the proposed state amendment is so broad that it could be potentially misused by business owners who simply don’t wish to serve gay people.
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The bill, which passed through the Senate Wednesday, would be forwarded to the Missouri House following another vote in the Senate before being put before the state’s voters. It would bypass Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who opposed the measure.
A 39-hour long filibuster in the Missouri Senate has ended Wednesday morning.
The 23-9 vote Wednesday came after Republicans broke a more than 30-hour Democratic filibuster.
The marathon discussion began around 4 p.m. Monday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which notes that the longest filibuster on record had been 38 hours long, over six days, about abortion in 1999.
Filibusters in Missouri can be halted by a majority vote, but that procedure is used sparingly, and Republican leaders said they preferred to simply wear down the opponents.
That could include protection from punishment for florists or bakers, for instance, who in other states in the USA have faced legal challenges for refusing to provide services for same-sex weddings on the ground that it offends their religious beliefs.
The proposed state constitutional amendment, introduced by Republican Sen. While shrouded in language framed as prohibiting the state government from making funding or tax status decisions based on an organization’s views on marriage that are driven by religious belief, in reality it opens the door to discrimination against same-sex couples, their families, and those who love them.
‘We felt the debate was starting to meander, ‘ said Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard (R-Joplin). But the bill must be approved by the Senate one more time before going to the Missouri House, and the last time the “previous question” move was used, Democrats shut the Senate down.
Discrimination has no place in our state and we are resolved to continue to fight this bill in the House.
Together as small businesses, faith leaders, corporations, and nonprofits, we say #NotInMyState. Four Senate Democrats including current U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr.
Last week, South Dakota’s Republican governor vetoed a bill that would have required schoolchildren to use the bathroom that matched with their biological sex, which critics said was discriminatory against transgender students.
Republican lawmakers argued that the legalization of gay marriage could lead to attacks on the religious liberties of those opposed to it. Sen. The measure could also undermine existing LGBT non-discrimination protections passed at the local level, including in cities like Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
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There still are about two months left in this year’s legislative session, which ends in mid-May.
