Missouri voters back a state constitutional ammendment to deny same-sex couples equal marriage rights: Voters in at least 9 other states - and perhaps as many as 12 - are expected to consider similar amendments this fall, so advocates on both sides of the debate were intensely watching Missouri's results, anxious about what they might say about voters elsewhere in the weeks ahead. "What happens in Missouri will be looked at by people across the country," said Seth Kilbourn, the national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington group that worked against the proposed amendment in Missouri with more than $100,000 for television advertisements, telephone banks and polling. Vicky Hartzler, a spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri, which pressed for the amendment with church functions, yard signs and a "marriage chain" of rallies across the state, said she hoped that the outcome would send a loud message to the rest of the country: "Here in the heartland we have a heart for families, and this is how deeply we feel about marriage." The gay marriage question drew a heavy turnout on Tuesday to an election that also produced a surprising result in the race for governor. Late Tuesday night, Gov. Bob Holden conceded defeat to Claire McCaskill, the state auditor, in the Democratic primary. It was the first time a sitting governor lost a primary in the last decade. Ms. McCaskill will face Matt Blunt, the secretary of state, who won the Republican primary. Meanwhile, a judge rules Washington State's ban unconstitutional: A Washington state court Wednesday ruled today same-sex couples must be allowed to marry. King County Superior Court Judge William Downing said that the state Constitution guarantees basic rights to lesbian and gay people -- and that those rights are violated by a state law prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying. The case involved eight same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in King County. Downing's ruling went on to say that the couples must be given marriage licenses. "This is a huge victory and a historic day," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal. The couples were represented by Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women's Law Center. "The court recognized that unless gay people can marry, we are not being treated equally under the law," said Cathcart. "Same-sex couples need the protections and security marriage provides, and this ruling says we're entitled to get them the same way straight couples do." In his ruling, Judge Downing called the eight couples "law-abiding, taxpaying model citizens," and said, "There is no worthwhile institution that they would dishonor, much less destroy." Amen.