Alabama Chief Justice Stops Issuance of Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

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Summary: The chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court has ordered probate judges to stop giving marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the state can determine what their rights are to uphold their ban.

Probate judges in Alabama have been ordered to stop issuing same-sex couple’s marriage licenses by the chief justice of the state Supreme Court. A ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed for same-sex marriage to be legal in all 50 states.

  

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Chief Justice Roy Moore declared that the state has the responsibility to uphold the state law banning same-sex marriage despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The directive comes after a federal judge in Alabama overturned the ban last year. The Alabama Supreme Court will meanwhile look into how the ruling affects the state’s ban.

Opponents of Moore’s directive argue that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling made gay marriage legal in every state so the state has no legal standing to not uphold it. Judge Steven Reed says he will ignore Moore’s instructions, tweeting “Judge Moore’s latest charade is just sad & pathetic.” President of the Southern Poverty Law Center Richard Cohen said, “Roy Moore has advised the probate judges to do something that would be in contempt of court. It’s going to be ignored.”

Lawyer for Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis applauds Moore. Chairman of the Liberty Counsel Mat Staver said, “The opinion of five lawyers on the U.S. Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage is lawless and without legal or historical support.”

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Moore has gotten in trouble before when a federal judge in 2003 said he was placing himself above the law by refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument. He won his job back in 2012.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alabama-gaymarriage-idUSKBN0UK2AR20160106

Photo: washingtonpost.com