Since 1998, Missouri Democrats have tried to pass the "Missouri Nondiscrimination Act," a bill that would ban discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2013, that idea came as close as it's ever been to becoming law.
That year, on Feb. 28, the Missouri House of Representatives approved House Bill 320. That legislation would have changed some provisions of the Missouri Human Rights Act, which regulates discrimination in the workplace and other environments.
After being sent to the Senate, House Bill 320 made it through various committees in that chamber and was reported back to the floor on May 15.
The Senate didn't take up the bill until May 17 - the last day of the legislative session.
When the act was brought for discussion, then-Sen. Jolie Justus offered a substitute that replaced large portions of House Bill 320 with language in line with the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act to add protections for LGBT people.
Justus, who was the state's first openly gay senator, had been the Senate's sponsor of the nondiscrimination since 2008.
Against the backdrop of the end-of-session frenzy, Senate Democrats and Republicans cut a deal to carve time for bills favored by each party to come up for discussion. Democrats agreed to not block a Republican-sponsored charcoal tax credit proposal, and Republicans allowed a vote to be held on Justus' substitute.
Just 15 minutes before the session's close, Justus' language passed, with 19 senators in support and 11 against. Nine Republicans voted in favor. All votes against the bill were also by Republicans.
"It really caught everybody by surprise when it passed," Keaveny said.
Justus' substitute was sent to the House. "Anything can happen in 15 minutes," Justus said at the time. She couldn't be reached for comment for this article.
Representatives never took the bill up for a vote. Yet, 2013 marked the first time that any version of MONA was voted on by either chamber of the Legislature.
It's not clear if the 2013 vote is an accurate indicator of the Legislature's level of support for LGBT protections. Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, said it's possible some Republicans voted in favor so the chamber could quickly get to discussing and voting on other legislation.
"In politics sometimes it's really interesting how two things that have nothing to do with each other on that very day, on that very end of the session ... somewhat needed each other to be heard and to be voted on," Pearce said.
Sens. Dan Brown and Jay Wasson, who voted against the substitute, declined to comment for this article.
The rest of the legislators who opposed against the language didn't respond to repeated interview requests.