Mo. supporters and opponents of gay marriage react to Calif. ruling

ST. LOUIS -- Those on both sides of the gay marriage debate in Missouri said Tuesday's court decision halfway across the country will have no direct legal effect here.

But both sides saw symbolic value in the California Supreme Court's decision upholding a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage while allowing existing same-sex marriages to stand.

Former Missouri Republican lawmaker and gay marriage opponent Vicky Hartzler said the twofold ruling would "cause confusion in implementation of policy as well as perceptions." Overall, however, she deemed the ruling "refreshing" and a "victory for democracy."

Ed Reggi of St. Louis said he was disappointed in the ruling but took some solace knowing that California's existing gay marriages were not invalidated.

Reggi, 37, organized a St. Louis rally of 1,400 protesters in November after passage of California's Proposition 8, an initiative that limited marriage to between a man and a woman.

The resulting grassroots organization, Show Me No Hate, held another rally Tuesday evening at St. Louis City Hall.

In 2004, Missouri became the first state in the country to adopt a constitutional provision restricting gay marriage, and does not recognize it.

"Tell an old friend and a new stranger that we are gay, partnered, married, widowed and in mourning," Reggi told the crowd of nearly 200. "Tell them how important marriage equality is to you."

Earlier this month, Reggi and his partner were among 17 gay couples -- accompanied by clergy members -- who took a chartered bus from Missouri to Iowa to wed. On April 3, Iowa justices upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.

Missouri does not recognize the marriages, but Jackson County and the cities of St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia allow gay couples to register as domestic partners, granting such rights as visitation at a hospital or jail. But Reggi said most other benefits that married heterosexual couples take for granted are the "fights and struggles I have every day."

Hartzler, a former state representative from Cass County, was spokeswoman and an organizer for the Coalition to Protect Marriage, which supported the passage of Missouri's constitutional provision restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.

She said the group wanted to protect the definition of marriage from judicial activism, by putting it in the state's constitution. The amendment passed with 71 percent of the vote in August 2004. Ten states followed suit that November.

Hartzler said of the California decision that it was "refreshing to see a court uphold the will of the people."

"It's important for people to continue to be involved in making their voice known in what they think is wise public policies, and hope that other states will follow suit."

Those at the St. Louis rally were also urged to lift their voices. A dozen civic and religious leaders reminded them of the uphill climb of hard-fought rights to vote and marry someone of another race.

"We can't count on other parts of our country to do the work. We've got to do it here," Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, said. "Iowa? How cool. Let's count on Iowa. To hell with California."

Rabbi Susan Talve, who presided at Reggi's wedding, said the journey for justice is always long.

"The only way to get from here to there is to go through the wilderness," Talve said. "You just have to keep showing up and doing the work.

"This is about all of us. If they can marginalize you, they can marginalize all of us."