Missouri County Votes to Fly Flags At Half-Staff for a Year to "Mourn" SCOTUS Marriage Ruling

The Dent County Courthouse and Judicial Building in southeast Missouri will be flying flags "below half-staff" on the 26th day of each month in observance of a year of "mourning" over the Supreme Court's landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.



The three-member Dent County Commission - all Republicans - voted unanimously on Monday to observe the practice beginning this month until June 2016.



The Salem News reports the vote came after Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles filed a letter into the public record protesting, “the U.S. high court’s stamp of approval of what God speaks of as an abomination.”



"Instead of choosing to honor and respect all residents, the Dent County Commission chose to send a dangerous message that LGBT people are unwelcome in Dent County. This action is disheartening and disappointing," said Stephanie Perkins, Deputy Director of PROMO, Missouri's statewide LGBT advocacy organization.

PROMO asserts that the Dent County vote is illegal as only sitting governors or presidents can order government flags to be flown at half-staff.