According to one group of gay rights activists, as many as 50 Alabama counties are currently not issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.
Many counties around the state have suspended the issuance of marriage licenses altogether in the wake of conflicting rulings from the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and a federal judge in south Alabama. Roughly a dozen counties are said to still be issuing licenses for traditional marriages, while turning away same sex couples.
On Sunday, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order to probate judges around the state instructing them not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
According to Moore’s six-page letter, “no probate judge shall issue or recognize a marriage license that is inconsistent with” Alabama’s constitutional ban on same sex marriage, which went into effect in 2006 after a statewide ballot initiative approved by 81 percent of voters.
Moore argues, as he has several times since the initial ruling, that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama has “no binding authority” over Alabama’s state courts.
In fact, Moore has argued that even the United States Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on gay marriage later this year, does not have the authority to redefine marriage.
“There’s nothing in the US Constitution that authorizes the Supreme Court of the United States or any federal court anywhere to misinterpret the word marriage to include something outside that,” Moore said recently. “Whether it’s about the equal protection clause, the due process clause, or the full faith and credit clause, they’re making these things up and they’re ruling on social matters… quote to me the Constitutional provision that gives the United States government the power to redefine marriage? You can’t find it.”
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued a statement Monday morning announcing that he will not take action against any probate judges who issue same sex marriage licenses, in spite of Moore urging that he intervene, should any probate judges issue marriage licenses in defiance of his order.
“We will follow the rule of law in Alabama, and allow the issue of same sex marriage to be worked out through the proper legal channels,” he said.
Autauga, Chilton, Coffee, Crenshaw, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lowndes, Madison and Montgomery counties are currently issuing same sex marriage licenses and, in some instances, performing ceremonies for gay couples.
The full list of Alabama counties currently not issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples can be found below.
Baldwin
Barbour
Bibb
Butler
Calhoun
Cherokee
Choctaw
Clarke
Clay
Cleburne
Colbert
Conecuh
Coosa
Covington
Cullman
Dale
Dallas
DeKalb
Elmore
Escambia
Franklin
Geneva
Greene
Hale
Henry
Houston
Jackson
Lauderdale
Lawrence
Lee
Limestone
Marion
Marshall
Mobile
Morgan
Perry
Pickens
Pike
Randolph
Shelby
St. Claire
Sumter
Talladega
Tallapoosa
Tuscaloosa
Walker
Washington
Wilcox
Winston
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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) December 3, 2014
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