Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order directing Alabama’s probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, are unconstitutional, and instituted marriage equality across the country. However, Moore directed probate judges to refrain from issuing any marriage licenses that are “contrary” to Alabama’s Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act; they assert legal marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
In a statement, Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said, “The law is clear and well-settled in Alabama as it is across the country. Bans on marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional. Moore’s directive doesn’t hold water because there’s a valid federal court injunction issued July 1, 2015 that we expect probate judges across the state to comply with, overriding anything issued by the Alabama Supreme Court.