Judge refuses to extend block on gay couples marrying in Alabama
A judge has refused to extend a block on same-sex couples marrying in the US state of Alabama.
District court Judge Callie VS Granade ruled last week that the state’s ‘Sanctity of Marriage Amendment’ – which defined marriage as between a man and a woman – was unconstitutional.
Unless another intervention is made, same-sex couples in Alabama will be able to marry from 9 February.
The state’s Republican Attorney General, Luther Strange, launched an appeal against the ruling with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
He wrote: “Judge Granade’s decision to grant a stay of her January 23, 2015, ruling concerning Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriages is a step in the right direction.
“While I would have preferred a longer stay to allow the matter to be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s anticipated ruling in June, the 14-day stay allows more time for my office to prepare our stay request to the 11th Circuit Court while also affording the public time to resolve the confusion over the impact of the recent ruling.”
The outcome of the case is likely to be entirely irrelevant in the long run, as the US Supreme Court is currently preparing to hear a wider same-sex marriage case, that could bring equality to all 50 states.
