As part of the Republican party’s ongoing effort to undo a century of progress for, well, just about everyone, the Missouri state GOP legislature has introduced a new bill seeking to totally redefine marriage.
Missouri still has an unconstitutional law on the books defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This new bill HB 1434, according to sponsors, would completely nullify marriage in the public arena for everyone.
The term “marriage” would apply only to religious institutions, while all state-recognized unions – hereto referred to as marriage – would undergo reclassification as “domestic unions.” Sponsors have created the bill, they say, as a means of protecting churches and businesses against gay encroachment, like asking bakers to design cakes for gay weddings.
Though the move may seem high-minded and egalitarian, the introduction of the bill comes as a reaction to Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case which brought marriage equality to the nation.
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Besides its reactionary origins, passage of the bill would create total chaos within Missouri as couples – gay and straight alike – have to reclassify themselves as “domestically unionized” on everything from Facebook to the census. Needless to say, that could prove very problematic when applying for marriage tax credits come federal tax time.
On the upside, the bill’s sponsor Rev./Rep. TJ Berry, has filed similar bills the past two years. They failed both times. We can’t wait to see it go down in flames again.
