<\/a>File it under things you never thought you\u2019d see happen: Despite a long-standing amendment to the Missouri Constitution that defines marriage as \u201cbetween one man and one woman,\u201d St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay issued marriage licenses to four same-sex couples this week [June 24, 2014].<\/p>\n

According to St. Louis Public Radio:<\/p>\n

During a press conference on Thursday morning, Slay said the move was not only \u201ca matter of fairness\u201d \u2014 but a way to make the city attractive to the most amount of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities are strengthened by their families. I want St. Louis to be the sort of diverse and open place in which families \u2014 gay and straight \u2014 choose to live, be creative and build businesses,\u201d Slay said. \u201cThis is a human rights issue. This is a quality of life issue. This is an economic issue.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a person who was in the 29% minority of Missourians who voted against the constitutional amendment in 2004<\/a>, I am surprised, delighted and touched by the mayor\u2019s courageous act. He did it, it has been widely reported<\/a>, as a way of challenging the law and forcing Missouri\u2019s Attorney General Rich Koster to take him to court. Despite cascading court rulings against legislated same-sex-marriage bans elsewhere, Missouri remains one of the 31 states that still have\u2014and enforce\u2014these mean, discriminatory laws.<\/p>\n

I hope, of course, that Mayor Slay prevails. But this is Missouri, after all, and Slay represents the evil, urban, Democratic St. Louis area, which is surrounded by a sea of red. And the right-wing-Republican dominated Missouri legislature is going to have a giant tantrum over this, no doubt.<\/p>\n

But stranger things have happened, as in the case of California\u2019s Proposition 8, which yanked previously okayed marriage equality rights from same-sex couples in 2012. I\u2019ve just watched the powerful new HBO documentary, \u201cThe Case Against 8,<\/a>\u201d and, if that protracted, uphill battle is an indicator, Slay is in for a long fight. He\u2019s going to need some highly motivated and extremely competent lawyers\u2014as did the anti-Prop 8 forces in California, who hired Ted Olson [former U.S. Solicitor General, outspoken conservative Republican, and the guy who \u201cwon over\u201d the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore], and David Boies [possibly the best cross-examiner in the country, a liberal Democrat, who argued the Gore side of the 2000 election].<\/p>\n

But, as demonstrated in \u201cThe Case Against 8,\u201d good things do happen, and the trend is with Slay. Olson and Boies eventually prevailed in their arguments against Proposition 8. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the national Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional, and it sent the Prop 8 case back to California, where it was overturned.<\/p>\n

So, kudos to Mayor Slay. Go for it, and don\u2019t give up. It would be nice to live in state where, at long last, our sense of decency can be restored\u2014at least when it comes to the constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness via love and marriage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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