While you were sleeping, something amazing happened. And it is still going on.

The seven Democrats in the Missouri Senate have been on the floor for 17 hours now filibustering SJR 39, a constitutional amendment that would add discrimination to the Missouri Constitution. And there is no sign that they are stopping anytime soon. You can listen here.

The resolution they are fighting would take the drastic step of amending the state constitution to allow any individual, business, non-profit entity, and taxpayer-funded organization to ignore laws that conflict with their “sincere religious belief concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex.”

You read that right. If these entities and people have a religious objection to your marriage because you are married to someone of the same-sex, they can ignore the laws that protect you from discrimination.

To be sure, the resolution has serious legal flaws: it would violate the Free Speech and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment and violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

But what is really motivating their filibuster is that it would cause real harm to real people. Just a few of the troubling real-life consequences to LGBT couples could include being denied safety at the town’s only publicly funded domestic violence shelter or being denied a meal at the city’s taxpayer-funded soup kitchen.

It is really hard to overstate how impressive the Democrat’s stand against discrimination is. These legislators are trying to stop this constitutional amendment and getting people across the nation to pay attention to the issue at the same time. Try to remember the last time you spent 17-plus hours and stayed up all night to fighting for the rights of others.

If you are as impressed as we are, thank the legislators who are standing up and urge them to keep standing:

Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal
@MariaChappelleN
(573) 751-4106
Maria.ChappelleNadal@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed
@SenatorNasheed
(573) 751-4415
Jamilah.Nasheed@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Jill Schupp
@JillSchupp
(573) 751-9762
Jill.Schupp@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Joe Keaveny
@JoeKeaveny
(573) 751-3599
Joe.Keaveny@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Kiki Curls
@KikiCurls
(573) 751-3158
shalonn.curls@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Scott Sifton
@ScottSifton
(573) 751-0220
Scott.Sifton@senate.mo.gov

Sen. Jason Holsman
@JasonHolsman
(573) 751-6607
Jason.Holsman@senate.mo.gov

Follow Maggie Garret online at @maggiefgarrett