Missouri begins its laws on sexual acts by defining "deviate sexual intercourse" (566.010 1(2)) as "any sexual act involving the genitals of one person and the mouth, tongue, hand or anus of another person".
Missouri's sodomy law only penalizes non-consensual acts or underage "deviate sexual intercourse".
It is considered sexual misconduct (556.090) for a person to have "deviate sexual intercourse with another person of the same sex." This is a class A misdemeanor.
In Missouri, married persons cannot file complaints for rape (566.030) and are considered property that always consents to sexual use. Married persons also cannot file complaints for forcible sodomy.
There is no law prohibiting bestiality in Missouri because it was not deemed to be a serious enough offense to warrant a punishment.
"The Committee felt . . . that it is no longer necessary or desirable to proscribe criminally unnatural acts between humans and animals unless such acts are covered by disorderly conduct or similar statutes. (Kinsey's studies indicate that when such acts occur, they are usually brief, youthful 'experiments' rather than part of a pattern of conduct that either contributes to or constitutes a significant degeneration of the individual involved. Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, (1st ed. 1948) at 667-678.) Focusing public attention on the person who happens to be found in such an act serves no useful social purpose and may seriously impair the development of the accused to a normal life."