Callaway County Recorder of Deeds Christine Kleindiest said that the county has no authority to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite a ruling from a St. Louis City circuit judge deeming same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional in Missouri.
"We can't do anything different," Kleindienst said. "Right now everything is the same as it's always been until a higher authority tells us any different."
She said her office received a few calls this morning inquiring about a same-sex marriage license. A high-seated judge or Attorney General Chris Koster would need to give the OK, Kleindienst said.
Koster released a statement yesterday in response to St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison's ruling in State of Missouri v. Florida.
"We have appealed the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court," Koster said in a statement. "The constitutional challenge to Missouri's historically recognized right to define marriage must be presented to and resolved by the state's highest court."
The Recorders' Association of Missouri has been advising county officials today that Burlison's judgement is only applicable to the city and not the rest of the state, according to the Associated Press.
Kleindienst echoed that statement.
"That judgement only applies to the City of St. Louis," she said.
Jan Jones, president of the association, told the Associated Press she was following guidance from Johnson County by not issuing the same-sex marriage licenses. Boone, Cole, Greene, Miller, Osage and Jasper counties, along with Callaway, are also not issuing the licenses, according to the Associated Press.
A St. Louis County recorder of deeds spokeswoman told the Associated Press that it issued marriage licenses to two same-sex couples on Wednesday.