Today, contrary to some press accounts, the Alabama Supreme Court did not order a stop to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) called on probate judges that were already issuing marriage licenses to continue to do so—and urged the probate judges that had not yet issued marriage licenses to begin doing so.
HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow issued the following statement:
“There is no justification for delaying or obstructing the clear message of the Supreme Court of the United States—marriage equality must begin in Alabama, and probate judges who stand in the way of that legal imperative risk exposing themselves to legal consequences. There is zero chance of marriage equality being reheard by the Supreme Court—particularly given that all four states that were parties in this case have accepted the outcome—and as a result the Court's holding in Obergefell v. Hodeges should be implemented across the country immediately.”
Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled in favor of marriage equality in Searcy v. Strange, striking down Alabama’s discriminatory constitutional amendment that banned same-sex couples from marrying. Since then, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has campaigned vocally against marriage equality. On Friday, however, the Supreme Court of the United States settled the matter once and for all in their sweeping 5-4 ruling striking down bans on marriage equality from coast to coast.
