Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed tweeted today that, barring issuance of a stay before Monday morning, he will issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Alabama: Montgomery Probate Court Will Issue Same-Sex Couples Marriage Licenses
Alabama Marriage Equality Plaintiffs Request Clarification From Judge
Yesterday, the Probate Judges Association of Alabama declared that Friday’s same-sex marriage ruling only applies to the one couple who filed the suit. (In Alabama, probate judges – not county clerks – are tasked with issuing marriage licenses).
Today, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that saw the marriage ban struck down have filed a motion asking the judge to clarify her ruling.
From the motion:
Clarification is necessary as the Probate Judges association in Alabama have assumed the position like George Wallace at the schoolhouse door staring defiantly upon this Court’s order reasoning that not all citizens of Alabama are entitled to the same rights and privileges afforded under the Constitution of the United States and that as Probate Judges “it is [their] duty to issue marriage licenses in accordance with Alabama law and that means [they] can not legally issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.” Alabama Probate Judges Association statement to the press on January 24, 2015.
It is respectfully submitted that this Court’s order declaring Ala. Const. Art. 1§ 36.03 (2006) and Ala. Code 1974 §30-1-19 unconstitutional for violation of the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment shall meet with immediate defiance and confusion without further clarification.
Read the full motion below:
Sen. Jeff Sessions Enthusiastically Endorsed Judge Who Struck Down Marriage Ban
With great sense of irony, we take a trip in the Way Back machine to 2002, where anti-gay Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), enthusiastically endorsed the nomination of Judge Granade who last Friday overturned his state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
“I thank the Senator from Nevada for his courtesy. I will speak about Callie–known as Ginny–Granade, who will be voted on shortly for the U.S. district judgeship for the southern district of Alabama. Ginny Granade is a nominee of the highest order. President Bush has nominated her to be the judge in the southern district of Alabama. She has the temperament, integrity, legal knowledge, and experience that will make her an outstanding jurist on the Federal bench. I know this from firsthand experience. Ginny is levelheaded, fair minded, trustworthy, and very smart.
“I suggest in the filling of this vacancy with Ginny Granade as a Federal judge, we are going to have done a good day’s work. Her experience and practice make me confident that the lawyers and the litigants in the Southern District of Alabama will enjoy and appreciate their opportunity to be in the courtroom she will control and preside over.”
Just delicious…
Alabama Probate Judges Association Pushes Back On Marriage Equality Ruling
Legal advisers for the Alabama Probate Judges Association say Friday’s ruling that struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban only applies to the two plaintiffs, not the whole state.
Via Birmingham’s ABC affiliate reports:
The Alabama Probate Judges Association says Friday’s ruling does not open the door for the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses.
Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand are the only plaintiffs in the case that was filed against Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. The Alabama Probate Judges Association says that is a key point in the effect that this ruling has on the duties of probate judges.
“Judge Granade’s ruling in this case only applies to the parties in the case and has no effect on anybody that is not a named party. The probate judges were not parties in this matter,” Al Agricola, attorney for the Alabama Probate Judges Association, explained. “The legal effect of this decision is to allow one person in one same-sex marriage that was performed in another state to adopt their partner’s child. There is nothing in the judge’s order that requires probate judges in Alabama to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.”
Folks tried this tactic in Florida last month and the judge there came back with a stinging clarification.
The judgment enforcing the court’s decision is actually quite clear. The ban is unconstitutional and the Attorney General is ordered to not enforce those laws. Read the judgement below:
“ALA. CONST. ART. I, § 36.03 (2006) and ALA. CODE 1975 § 30-1-19 are hereby DECLARED to be unconstitutional because they violate they Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The defendant Luther Strange, in his capacity as Attorney General for the State of Alabama, is hereby ENJOINED from enforcing those laws.”
Here’s the local news report from WBMA:
Alabama AG Requests Emergency Stay Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has predictably filed for an emergency stay request with federal Judge Ginny Granade, the same judge who struck down the ban on same-sex marriage several hours before.
From Strange’s motion:
Defendant and the State of Alabama will suffer irreparable harm if marriages are recognized on an interim basis that are ultimately determined to be inconsistent with Alabama law, resulting in confusion in the law and in the legal status of marriages.
Granting a stay will not harm the Plaintiffs, but would only maintain the status quowhile these issues are considered by the appellate courts.
Finally, a stay will serve the publicinterest by avoiding the confusion and inconsistency that will result from an on-again, off-again enforcement of marriage laws.
Interesting situation here: Judge Granade did not issue a stay in her ruling. You would imagine there was a reason for that.
IF she does denies the request, AG Strange will be forced to move on to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, it was just last month when that court said “no” to Florida on a similar request.
With no waiting period in Alabama, if no stay is issued before offices open on Monday morning, expect same-sex weddings to begin.
Alabama’s House Speaker On Today’s Marriage Equality Ruling
GOP Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard on today’s marriage equality ruling:
“It is outrageous when a single unelected and unaccountable federal judge can overturn the will of millions of Alabamians who stand in firm support of the Sanctity of Marriage Act. The Legislature will encourage a vigorous appeals process, and we will continue defending the Christian conservative values that make Alabama a special place to live.”
In October, Hubbard – the good Christian conservative values kind guy he is – was indicted on 23 felony corruption charges in late October. He refuses to resign in advance of his trial.
Alabama: Federal Judge Rules State Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
A federal trial court judge in Alabama ruled today that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
From U.S. District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade:
If anything, Alabama’s prohibition of same-sex marriage detracts from its goal of promoting optimal environments for children. Those children currently being raised by same-sex parents in Alabama are just as worthy of protection and recognition by the State as are the children being raised by opposite-sex parents. Yet Alabama’s Sanctity laws harms the children of same-sex couples for the same reasons that the Supreme Court found that the Defense of Marriage Act harmed the children of same-sex couples.
Such a law “humiliates [ ] thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples. The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives.” Windsor, 133 S.Ct. at 2694. Alabama’s prohibition and non-recognition of same-sex marriage “also brings financial harm to children of same-sex couples.” id. at 2695, because it denies the families of these children a panoply of benefits that the State and the federal government offer to families who are legally wed.
Additionally, these laws further injures those children of all couples who are themselves gay or lesbian, and who will grow up knowing that Alabama does not believe they are as capable of creating a family as their heterosexual friends. For all of these reasons, the court finds that Alabama’s marriage laws violate the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The ruling seems to have declared the state amendment and statutes involved to be unconstitutional in regard to recognition of out-of-state marriages and marriages that are performed in Alabama.
In the judgment enforcing the court’s decision, Granade wrote,
“ALA. CONST. ART. I, § 36.03 (2006) and ALA. CODE 1975 § 30-1-19 are hereby DECLARED to be unconstitutional because they violate they Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The defendant Luther Strange, in his capacity as Attorney General for the State of Alabama, is hereby ENJOINED from enforcing those laws.”
Judge Granade did NOT include a stay in her ruling. This means the ruling is effective immediately. And there is no waiting period in Alabama.
Of note: Judge Granade was nominated by President George W. Bush.
Update via AL.com:
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office indicated it would continue to fight the case.
“We are disappointed and are reviewing the Federal District Court’s decision,” spokesman Mike Lewis said via email. “We expect to ask for a stay of the court’s judgment pending the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling which will ultimately decide this case.”
Freedom To Marry: Meet Jessica and Chi From Alabama
While 32 states in the US enjoy marriage equality, there are still many LGBT families who do not have the same protections and benefits of marriage as heterosexual couples.
Jessica and Chi and their daughter Nailah from Alabama share why marriage matters to their family.
From Freedom To Marry.
Alabama: Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls Out His Home State On LGBT Rights
Speaking at the Alabama Academy of Honor induction, in front of Governor Robert Bentley, Apple CEO Tim Cook (who has never publicly come out) addressed LGBT rights in his home state:
“I could never understand why some within our state and nation resisted basic principles of human dignity that were so opposite to the values I had learned growing up in Robertsdale, Alabama in a family that was rich in love and respect.”
“We were too slow on equality on African-Americans. We were too slow on interracial marriage. And we are still too slow on equality for the LBGT community.”
Video: Project One America from the Human Rights Campaign
I grew up in Texas, so I have an idea of what life is like in a southern, conservative state. I left upon high school graduation only to return to visit family and friends occasionally.
Bless these folks for staying in their states and opening up a dialogue with neighbors. It really is the answer to acceptance. When “gay” or “lesbian” or “transgender” isn’t just a word that scares people, when it’s someone they know, evolution really does begin.
From the Human Rights Campaign:
HRC’s Project One America is a comprehensive, multi-year campaign to dramatically expand LGBT equality in the South through permanent campaigns in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.