As Alabama wrestles over the issue of same-sex marriage, state lawmakers are getting involved.
They are seeking legal protections for judges, ministers and others who refuse to officiate at or recognize weddings that violate their religious beliefs.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 9-4 Thursday to approve the bill.
Republican Rep. Jim Hill said he has gotten phone calls from ministers and probate judges who are concerned they will be forced to marry gay couples.
Opponents say the bill enshrines discrimination and could have much broader effects.
The bill does not mention same-sex weddings. It gives civil immunity to churches, ministers, society organizations and other religious affiliated groups for refusal to recognize, or solemnize, a marriage.
Jurors have recommended the death penalty for an east Alabama woman who was convicted of hiring a gunman to kill her troubled, 20-year-old daughter.
Lisa Leane Graham of Phenix City was convicted of capital murder today. The jury agreed with prosecutors that she hired a gunman to kill her daughter.
Prosecutors say Graham wanted her daughter dead because she believed the young woman was ruining her life. She dropped out of college and was charged with assault not long before she was killed. Stephanie Shea Graham was found on a roadside in 2007 after being shot six times.
Kenneth Walton confessed to shooting Stephanie and is currently serving life in prison. He testified against Lisa Graham last week, saying she asked him to kill her daughter and he did so as a favor.
An Alabama organization is working to end food insecurity among Alabama children. Alabama Childhood Food Solutions is celebrating its three year anniversary today by holding its annual silent auction and banquet.
The proceeds from the event will go towards delivering backpacks of food to thirteen-hundred hungry children in three different counties.
Jim Jones is the co-director of Alabama Childhood Food Solutions. He says that even with government aid, families in Alabama are still hungry…
“We realize the government cannot be everything to everybody. We are still an agricultural state. Kids who live in rural areas don’t have the same access to food. Without an adequate diet, children often don’t thrive.” (13 seconds)
The auction and banquet will begin tonight at six pm and is available to the public with purchase of a ticket.