Discussion: Federal Judge Orders Mobile County To Issue Gay Marriage Licenses

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Discussion for article #233217

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Why only one county? That seems odd. Why not make clear this applies to all counties in the State?

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Only one county’s Probate Judge was challenged in the most recent lawsuit. Hopefully, now that Judge Granade has made it clear to that one, the others will accept that it also applies to them. What’s truly amazing is that any of them must be court-ordered to do what their oath of office says they will do and “uphold the Constitution of the United States.”

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More good news from Alabama today.

Presbyterians vote to allow same sex marriage

The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, a central Alabama group of churches affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), voted 75-39 Thursday in favor of approving gay marriages.

They became one of about 38 presbyteries nationwide that have voted in favor of gay marriage, with 14 voting against. The change to the 1.8-million-member denomination’s official stance will become official if 81 of the 171 presbyteries vote in favor.

Episcopal Bishop of Alabama:

Bishop Kee Sloan, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, voted in favor of a new ritual of blessing for same-sex unions that the Episcopal Church approved during its 2012 General Convention.

At the time, he said he wouldn’t allow blessings of same-sex unions in Alabama churches. It was too divisive and the state wasn’t ready, he said. Now, Alabama is ready, he said. “I just needed to wait for the right time,” Sloan told AL.com.
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/real_smiles_real_tears_episcop.html

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Thanks for the 'splainer. You’re right though, they’re all slow-walking the inevitable.

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They have to follow procedure. Don’t want to give the bigots something that they can appeal.

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Cool. And I just learned what a ‘presbytery’ is too. I must’ve grown up a sheltered little Jewish kid, huh?

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It’s basically a minyan of congregations.

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From Judge Granade’s ruling: This applies to ALL probate judges, and overrides any “order” from Moore (who has declined requests to comment.

“If Plaintiffs take all steps that are required in the normal course of business as a prerequisite to issuing a marriage license to opposite-sex couples, Judge Davis may not deny them a license on the ground that Plaintiffs constitute same-sex couples or because it is prohibited by the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act or by any other Alabama law or Order pertaining to same-sex marriage,” Granade wrote.

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It was probably because Mobile County was the only party defendant in the case, say, because a resident of that county sued the probate judge in that county for refusing to grant a marriage license. For the judge to apply his ruling to counties not a party would be like him extending a ruling against Apple to IBM though IBM was not a party to the plaintiff’s suit.

It is also possible the federal judge’s jurisdiction extended only to Mobile County, which may be the biggest county in the state if Mobile city is located there.