JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says he personally supports marriage equality but will defend the state’s constitutional ban against same-sex marriage.

Koster’s comments Thursday come a day after St. Louis officials issued marriage licenses to four same-sex 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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