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Federal court: Gays have right to marry in Alabama
A federal judge has ruled that gays and lesbians have the right to marry in all Alabama counties, but placed her decision on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling on same-sex marriage.
U.S District Judge Callie Granade said on May 21 that Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and enjoined probate judges from enforcing it. However, she stayed enforcement of her order citing the expected decision this summer.
Granade in January ruled that Alabama’s gay marriage ban was illegal. Gay couples married for three weeks until the state Supreme Court ordered probate judges to stop.
The latest ruling came in a class-action lawsuit by gay couples across the state.
David Dinielli, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, called the ruling a definitive victory for gay marriage.
