A state judge, J. Dale Youngs, backed by Attorney General Chris Koster, has ruled that part of Missouri’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman is illegal. Youngs’ ruling and Koster’s inaction comes after Missourians voted by a 71-29 percent margin on Aug. 3, 2004 to amend the state constitution, defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. The official tally for the ballot initiative called Amendment 2 and strongly supported by the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) was 1,055,771 in support of the amendment, 439,529 opposing it.