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Koster backs gay marriage but fights it in court

Chris Koster speaks at a press conference in Kansas City on Thursday, February 9th, 2012.
Dan Verbeck
/
KBIA
Chris Koster speaks at a press conference in Kansas City on Thursday, February 9th, 2012.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says he personally supports gay marriage but will defend the state's constitutional ban against it.

Koster's comments Thursday come a day after St. Louis officials issued marriage licenses to four gay couples.

Koster said he is seeking an injunction preventing St. Louis officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples because local officials should not be acting in conflict with state laws.

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2004 limiting marriage to only one man and one woman.

Koster is a Democrat who is running for governor in 2016. He said in a written statement that many people have changed their minds about marriage in the past decade but that it is his duty as attorney general to defend Missouri's laws.

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