ACLU sues Missouri to recognize gay marriages

The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the state of Missouri in state court in Jackson County, Mo., seeking to force Missouri to recognize all marriages of same-sex couples who were legally wed in other states.

The lawsuit, representing eight couples from around the state, doesn't seek a repeal to Missouri's constitutional amendment, passed in 2004, that allows only for marriages to be performed in the state between a man and a woman, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

It’s a smart strategy, according to Marcia McCormick, a law professor at Saint Louis University, because it doesn’t require Missouri to strike down its entire provision.

“If they do it incrementally, that means that there’s not as much of an opportunity for a backlash or a bad decision,” McCormick told the journal.

Read more from the St. Louis Business Journal.