Gay marriage ban challenge heads to trial

ST. LOUIS -- A legal challenge to Missouri's gay marriage ban returned to court in St. Louis on Monday and appears to be headed to trial next month.

The city issued marriage licenses to four same-sex couples in June, setting up a court fight in a state where gay marriage is banned under a 2004 amendment to the Missouri Constitution.

St. Louis officials have agreed to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples pending resolution of the legal case and others in state and federal courts.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Francis Slay said lawyers for the city and state appeared briefly before Circuit Judge Rex Burlison at a Monday status hearing. The judge set a trial date for late September.