Nixon orders state to recognize same-sex marriages

Gov. Jay Nixon yesterday signed an executive order directing all governmental agencies in the state to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to legalize same-sex marriages in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Executive Order 15-04 stipulates departments, agencies, boards and commissions in the executive branch take actions to ensure same-sex marriages are recognized in the state, but it also points to local municipalities, according to a news release.

“This landmark ruling was a historic step forward for our nation, and it has some very real benefits for families here in Missouri,” Nixon said in the release. “I am signing Executive Order 15-04 to ensure the Supreme Court’s ruling is implemented uniformly throughout state government.”

Nixon’s order also supersedes his Executive Order 13-14, which directed the state Department of Revenue to accept jointly filed tax returns by same-sex couples legally married in other states.

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 on June 26 to require all states to license marriages between same-sex couples and recognize already licensed marriages performed out of state. The decision added equal protections for same-sex couples under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

In the release, Nixon also calls on the Missouri General Assembly to add LGBT protections in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations under the state’s Nondiscrimination Act. An executive order he signed in 2010 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in state government, according to the release.

In Springfield, voters in April narrowly repealed the city’s expanded nondiscrimination ordinance that added sexual orientation and gender identity from the list of protected classes on Springfield’s nondiscrimination policy in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations.[[In-content Ad]]