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Alabama: Chief Justice Orders State Judges to Defy Marriage Equality Ruling

HeadlineJan 07, 2016

Back in the United States, Alabama’s Chief Justice Roy Moore has drawn criticism after insisting that state probate judges must refuse to order same-sex marriage licenses, despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing marriage equality more than six months ago. On Wednesday, Moore said until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on the Supreme Court decision, the state judges remain bound by an earlier Alabama court order prohibiting same-sex marriage. But if the state judges follow that directive rather than the Supreme Court decision, they could be held in contempt of court. Currently, the majority of Alabama’s judges are issuing marriage licenses to all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, although judges in at least nine counties have shut down marriage license operations entirely in order to avoid the Supreme Court’s ruling.

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