The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied the state of Alabama’s request Feb. 3 to extend a delay on a ruling striking down the same-sex “marriage” ban in the state, news sources reported.
As a result same-sex “marriages” will be allowed in Alabama on Feb. 9, earlier if U.S. District Judge Callie Granade lifts her stay on the ruling.
If she does so, “marriages” could begin sooner than Feb. 9, WBRC Fox 6 reported.
This ruling could be reversed if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reversing lower court rulings lifting same-sex “marriage” bans in four states. That ruling is expected sometime this summer.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said, “I am disappointed in the [court’s] decision not to stay the federal district court’s ruling. … My office vigorously defended the constitutionality of Alabama’s marriage laws.”
Strange said the state then requested the Court of Appeals to issue a stay Feb. 3 following the earlier ruling until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision this summer.
“The confusion that has been created by the District Court’s ruling could linger for months until the U.S Supreme Court resolves this issue once and for all,” he said.
Granade ruled Jan. 23 that the "Sanctity of Marriage Amendment" to Alabama's constitution — which defines marriage as "inherently a unique relationship between a man and a woman" — violates the federal constitution. She also ruled that the state's attorney general is prohibited from enforcing the marriage amendment.
The case triggering Granade’s ruling involved a lesbian couple who were legally “married” in California but denied adoption rights in Alabama when one of the women attempted to adopt the other’s biological son. (TAB, al.com, WBRC)
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