Rather than marry gay and lesbian
couples, two Missouri judges have opted to not marry any couples
following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling striking down gay
marriage bans in all 50 states.
Associate circuit judges Larry Winfrey
and Steve Jackson of the southern Missouri county of Laciede stopped
marrying couples on June 29, just three days after the court handed
down its ruling.
“In light of the divisive impact of
the recent United States Supreme Court decision on our society
relative to the issue of marriage, we elect to not allow the
integrity and respect of your local court to be tarnished by being
caught up in the dissension created,” the judges wrote in a joint
statement given to the Lebanon
Daily Record.
The change was not announced until
Monday afternoon.
According to the Daily Record,
the judges' decision leaves a young gay engaged couple from Lebanon
out in the cold. The couple had hoped to be married by a judge this
week.