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| Alabama county courthouses like this one are seeing turmoil today as same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses in spite of State Supreme Justice Roy Moore's protest. Image: Shutterstock |
Though federal courts have yet to officially rule on
same-sex marriage as a whole, they have paved the way for such marriages to
take place in Alabama as of today.
However, State Supreme Justice Roy Moore aims to keep that from
happening.
On Sunday, Moore ordered all probate judges to refuse to
issue licenses, despite the federal courts’ decision. "Effective immediately, no Probate Judge of the State of
Alabama nor any agent or employee of any Alabama Probate Judge shall issue or
recognize a marriage license that is inconsistent" with the state code or
constitution, wrote Moore.
Area judges have had mixed reactions. While many are following the federal ruling
and issuing the licenses, others have put the issue on temporary hold.
The law in this instance is a bit tricky. Section
30-1-19 of the state code of Alabama says that “marriage is inherently a
unique relationship between a man and a woman.”
But the state code also says in Section 102 that “the legislature shall
never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white
person and a negro, or descendant of a negro.”
The issue of same-sex marriage in Alabama came to the attention
of the federal courts after Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, a couple who were
legally married in California, had their adoption petition denied. As a result, a federal court struck down the
state ban on same-sex marriage; however, it allowed a stay until today to allow
probate courts to prepare for the change.
The federal courts have stated that they will take no further action
until a final decision on the issue is reached in a few months.
For
now, counties remain divided. Jefferson,
Montgomery, and Madison counties have all publically stated that they will
issue same-sex marriage licenses today, while Tuscaloose, Shelby, Marshall, and
Houston counties have said they will follow Moore’s order.
The Human Rights
Campaign denounced Moore’s order as a "clear violation of all codes of
legal ethics," with HRC Legal
Direction Sarah Warbelow further stating that “this is a pathetic,
last-ditch attempt at judicial fiat by an Alabama Supreme Court justice—a man
who should respect the rule of law rather than advance his personal beliefs.
Moore,
who was ousted from his first chief justice post in 2003 after refusing to
remove a Ten Commandments monument he had had placed in the Alabama Judicial
Building in Montgomery, wrote that his order on same-sex marriages is necessary
to ensure justice in Alabama.
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