MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – The federal judge who overturned Alabama’s gay marriage ban ordered a defiant county to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, signaling to probate judges across the state that they should do the same.
U.S. District Judge Callie Granade directed Mobile County to begin issuing the licenses, saying the probate judge there had no reason to deny them after she ruled Alabama’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.
Gay rights advocates said they hoped Granade’s order would smooth an uneven legal landscape where gay couples have been able to marry in some Alabama counties and not in others. However, it wasn’t immediately clear what other judges would do.
At least 22 of Alabama’s 67 counties are issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
“Judge Granade’s ruling confirms that the U.S. Constitution requires Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to all qualified couples, gay and straight,” said Randall Marshall, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama.