First US state to ban marriage

Voters in the US state of Missouri on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the State Constitution banning gay marriage, becoming the first state in the country to do so.

With 93 per cent of the votes counted it emerged that 70 per cent of voters supported the ban, the New York Times reported.

Voters in at least nine other states will have their say on similar amendments later this year, so advocates on both sides of the debate were watching Missouri’s results closely.

“What happens in M