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Kansas City, MO ~ Missouri voters approve change in constitution

With more than 96 percent of precincts reporting, Amendment 2 was passing with 70.5 percent in favor.

Support for the amendment was especially high in rural Missouri, where the yes votes often topped 80 percent. But the measure also did well in suburban areas and narrowly passed in Kansas City.

The issue appeared to be failing in St. Louis.

Missouri becomes the first state in the nation to ban gay marriage by constitutional amendment since a Massachusetts court decision opened the door for same-sex marriage in that state.

?We're very gratified and encouraged by the overwhelming support for traditional marriage,? said Vicky Hartzler, spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri.

?I think Missouri values have spoken,? Hartzler said. ?People understand we have a wise public policy in Missouri and want to protect traditional marriage from possible legal challenges.

People don't want to see in Missouri what happened in Massachusetts.?

In Jackson County, the amendment passed with 68.6 percent in favor. In Kansas City, the issue had been failing until late in the evening, when yes votes turned the amendment around, and it passed with 50.7 percentof the vote.

In St. Louis County, the amendment passed with 60.6 percent of the vote. But the story was different in the city of St. Louis, where, with 72 percent of precincts reporting, the measure was failing, with 46.8 percent in favor to 53.2 percent against.

Earlier, opponents of the measure had held out hope that late results might change the picture, but they conceded defeat in the face of overwhelming results.

?Obviously, we would've liked to have defeated Amendment 2,? said Doug Gray, campaign manager for the Constitution Defense League, which opposed the amendment. ?Gays and lesbians didn't ask for this fight; it was brought to them.?

Despite the enormous support for the measure, Gray said opponents still felt they had accomplished something.

?We educated a lot of people around the state,? he said. ?It's an ongoing battle.?

The group on Monday said it had received death threats and that harassment of gays had intensified right before the election.

?There are crazies out there that saw this (amendment) as a green light,? he said.

Said Hartzler, the pro-amendment spokeswoman: ?If that really happened, it's terrible. If it didn't, it was a desperate last-minute attempt to make them (opponents) look like victims.?

National gay rights organizations gave tens of thousands of dollars to the Constitution Defense League, hoping Amendment 2 would fail.

Advocates of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning gay marriage also were watching the vote in Missouri.

Although Missouri already has a law banning gay marriage, proponents of the amendment said it was necessary because of a Massachusetts court ruling that interpreted that state's constitution to allow same-sex marriage. Activist judges might make a similar ruling in Missouri, supporters argued.

Supporters of the Missouri amendment spent only a few thousand dollars on publicity, knowing there was a high level of support for the proposal, which already had attracted plenty of attention.

Opponents, meanwhile, spent more than 0,000 on a campaign that included television ads featuring a veteran speaking out against the amendment. Opponents also went door-to-door in the state's larger cities.

The opponents argued that the amendment was not necessary because of the ban on gay marriage in existing state law. They also said it would permanently enshrine discrimination in the constitution.

The amendment will take effect Sept. 3.

To reach Tim Hoover, Missouri Capitol correspondent, call (573) 634-3565 or send e-mail to

thoover@kcstar.com


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The results

On whether to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage:

Yes: 1,005,484

No: 420,280

96% of precincts reporting