MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Supreme Court has agreed to consider an emergency request by two conservative groups seeking to stop the same-sex weddings that have been underway in Alabama since Monday.
Gays and lesbians have been getting married in parts of Alabama since Monday after a federal judge declared Alabama’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional.
Justices by a 6-2 vote Friday agreed to hear an emergency petition brought by the Alabama Policy Institute and Alabama Citizens Action Program. The organizations are asking the justices to join the legal position of Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Moore has urged probate judges to refuse the licenses that he believes are still forbidden under Alabama law.
Attorney Eric Johnston said the action seeks to keep gay marriage “on hold” until the U.S. Supreme Court issues an anticipated ruling in June on whether gays and lesbians nationwide have a fundamental right to marry.