Gay marriage is set to be legalized in Alabama Monday. All that’s left is for U.S. District Judge Callie Granade to lift the stay she imposed last month. At that point, same-sex couples all across the state will be free to apply for marriage licenses. That's despite a robust appeal attempt by the State of Alabama and its Attorney General, Luther Strange.
“Alabama has a law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It’s my job as Attorney General to defend the laws of the state, so that’s what we’re doing in courts across the state.”
Strange’s goal was to maintain the stay imposed by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade. She originally ruled Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, but ordered that ruling be put on hold until Monday, Feb. 9 to give Alabama time to appeal. Strange would rather wait until the nation’s highest court has its say.
“The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case in April and they will make a final decision in June which will resolve the issue not just here in Alabama but all across the country where these laws are being challenged.”
Ultimately, the state's appeal attempts were unsuccessful and once Granade’s order is lifted, same-sex couples in Alabama will be free to marry. Obviously, not everyone is thrilled about this development. Michael Kidd is the executive director of the Foundation for Moral Law.
“Marriage is a fundamental right, but the reason for which it’s a fundamental right is because we get a man and a woman who, therefore, bear offspring and have a family. So to apply marriage as a fundamental right in the absence of a biological woman and a biological man is really intellectually dishonest.”
The foundation that Kidd works for was started by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Its goal is to, and I quote, restore the knowledge of God in law and government. Kidd also says that the overturning of Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban is especially controversial because such a large majority of Alabama’s citizens voted to pass that ban.
“Here in the state of Alabama, 81% of the population adopted an amendment to our Constitution to have marriage defined as only one man and one woman.”
On the opposite side of this issue is Evan Wolfson. He’s founder and president of Freedom to Marry. Wolfson is widely considered to be the father of the gay marriage movement, and he says that popular opinion in the South has shifted considerably since that ban was passed nearly a decade ago.
“There is majority support now in the South, through a lot of hard work and a lot of people in Alabama stepping up and telling their stories… The more there’s been that conversation, the more we’re seeing Alabama and the South moving in the very same direction as the whole rest of the country.”
Wolfson says there has been a surge of support for the same-sex marriage movement in the last few years. He draws parallels between the current fight for marriage equality and the 1960’s civil rights struggles.
“It’s very resonant in Alabama where so many important battles that are part of the history that ennobled all of us unfolded. Gay people are not the only people to experience discrimination in marriage. That was an important part of the struggle in the civil rights battles in the ‘50s and ‘60s. It’s very fitting that we’re once again having this conversation.”
“There’s no justification for discriminating on someone based on the color of their skin.”
Says Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.
“Sexuality is a totally different ball game entirely. The fundamental difference between a man and a woman, I think, is pretty well established. It’s a totally different area of the law and I think the courts will see that.”
Evan Wolfson doesn’t see it that way.
“The experience of gay people in America is different from the experience of African Americans. Different groups have endured different forms of discrimination and denial. But what we have in common is that we are all promised by the Constitution liberty, justice, equality under the law, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Some supporters of same-sex marriage feel those constitutional rights aren’t necessarily a given, and that there’s a lot of work left to do before real equality is achieved. Ben Cooper is the chairman of Equality Alabama, a volunteer organization working to protect the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people in the state. Some other issues facing that community?
“Being discriminated against in your workplace. There are still no laws in Alabama that protect from being fired just because you may be gay. Housing, if your landlord doesn’t like the fact that you’re gay, you can be evicted. They can legally do that.”
And just receiving a marriage license might be a tall order in some areas, even if it’s legal. Cooper says Equality Alabama is ready for anything…
“There are a number of plans and procedures that Equality Alabama as well as some of our other national organizations have put in place in order to oversee and monitor any difficulty couples may have, and actually having people on the ground that will be meeting couples when they go to get their licenses.”
Those preparations might be tested. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has repeatedly advised probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses. He argues that those judges are not bound by Judge Granade’s decision, and that any judges who issue same-sex marriage licenses will be doing so in defiance of state law. So, ending the stay? Declaring Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional? That might not be the end of it.