U.S. District Judge Callie Granade has ordered Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
From Huffington Post:
A federal judge ordered county officials in Alabama to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples Thursday, saying they can no longer ignore her earlier ruling that struck down the state's marriage equality ban.
Six gay couples had requested Thursday's hearing so that Granade could clear up some of the confusion in the state and determine whether probate judges who fail to comply would face any sort of penalty.
Their defiance is due to directions from Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R), who sent an order to the state's probate judges Sunday night not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He argued that they were not bound to follow the federal ruling.
Just a couple of hours after the hearing, Granade issued a written order stating that probate judges in Alabama may not deny marriage licenses "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." In other words, the federal decision trumps the state laws.
Read the order below:
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