After Missouri State Trooper Dennis Engelhard was killed while investigating a traffic accident, his same-sex partner sought survivor benefits. Missouri pays benefits to the surivors of highway patrol officers killed in the line of duty, the Associated Press reported. The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that because the couple were not married that no benefits are owed, according to the AP.
While Missouri prohibits same-sex marriage in its state constitution and a state law, “the result cannot be any different here simply because [Kelly] Glossip and the patrolman were of the same sex. The statute discriminates solely on the basis of marital status, not sexual orientation,” the majority of five justices said according to AP.
The two-member dissent, however, said the statute should be struck down because it "specifically discriminate against gay men and lesbians by categorically denying them crucial state benefits when their partner dies in the line of duty," according to AP.
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