Screen Cap via YouTube.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri will appear in court today to argue on behalf of Kelly Glossip, whose partner, Dennis Engelhard, was a state trooper killed in the line of duty. Missouri offers survivor benefits to spouses of troopers killed in the line of duty, but not to committed same-sex partners.

“Dennis and I loved and supported each other for 15 years like any other committed couple. The only thing that stopped us from getting married is that Missouri wouldn’t allow it,” Glossip said. “It’s painfully unfair that the state that Dennis gave his life to protect would treat us as if we were total strangers and shut us out of the same protections offered to committed straight couples.”

Englehard was killed while responding to an accident on Christmas Day in 2009.

“Dennis and Kelly shared a home and cared for each other as any family would, even helping care for Kelly’s son from a previous marriage,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Ensuring that troopers’ families are taken care of in the event of a tragedy is a matter of basic fairness. Kelly deserves the same protection as any other bereaved spouse.”

More info and a video after the jump…Spouses of Missouri State Highway Patrol employees are entitled to an annuity of 50 percent of the employee’s average salary if the employee is killed on duty. Since Engelhard’s death, Glossip has struggled with paying the mortgage on the home they both owned. While Glossip is not challenging the definition of marriage under Missouri law, he is challenging the benefits policy as a violation of his rights under the Missouri Constitution.