Alabama. The Heart of Dixie. Epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. Breeding ground of the KKK. Home of the Crimson Tide and antigay Governor Robert Bentley, who, as you may recall, had his adulterous phone sex recording leak earlier this year.
Historically, the state has never been particularly good at advancing with the times. And it doesn’t appear to be getting any better because it appears over a dozen probate judges in at least eight different counties have not yet received the Supreme Court’s memo from 18 months ago that declared marriage a fundamental right for all people living in America.
Related: AL’s Antigay Governor Is One Dirty Talker, According To Leaked Phone Sex Tape
Since the historic ruling in June 2015, many probate judges have denied marriage licenses to any couple living in Alabama, gay or straight.
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“We do not issue marriage licenses because our judge chose not to,” Debbie Owens, chief clerk of Washington County, which is overseen by Judge Nick Williams, tells AL.com. “It’s our judge’s choice.”
“Alabama law says probate judges may issue marriage licenses, but doesn’t require them to,” Angi Stalnaker, spokeswoman for Pike County Probate Judge Wes Allen, adds. “The Supreme Court said you can’t discriminate against individuals. He’s not discriminating because he’s not issuing licenses to anybody in Pike County.”
But not everyone–or anyone, frankly–buys the excuse.
Related: The KKK Is, Wait For It, Very Unhappy About Gay Marriage In Alabama
“There is no doubt that the counties that are not issuing licenses to anybody have taken that approach because of the same sex-marriage decision,” Randall C. Marshall, legal director of the ACLU of Alabama, says. “The U.S. Supreme Court talked about marriage as a fundamental right, [so] individuals who live in those counties and are burdened by the refusal of the probate judge to issue marriage licenses may, in fact, have a constitutional claim.”
“We thought this was over but, sure enough, Alabama will be the last state in the nation to get through this,” Gary Wright II, one of the plaintiff’s in the state’s original gay marriage case Strawser v. Strange adds. “Everyone thinks, especially after the Supreme Court win, that this was settled … but the judges who didn’t want to go along with [gay marriage] just said, ‘we won’t issue licenses to any couple.'”
When pressed on this, Stalnaker exercised her teenage logic by saying that Alabama law “says that they ‘may’ issue marriage licenses, not that they ‘shall’ issue them.”
Related: Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Will Stand Trial For Defying Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
Kangol
Alabama GOP, your homophobia is showing. Again.
zipperzone
Gosh…… what a surprise. Imagine that.
Same sex marriage will never be accepted universally in the U.S.A. as long as the millions of “deplorables” are stupid enough to think DJT is the solution to their miserable lives.
scotty
it’s pronounced “alabamastan”
nathan_dostal
Can we please start rounding up these bigots and processing them into food?
mark_woolard
Alabama, of all our states… first in the alphabet… last in just about every fucking thing else…
joeyty
Alabama is 25 percent African-American and you’re all surprised it’s homophobic ?
Bauhaus
@joeyty:
Alabama has 19 elected appellate judges, all white, so I’m not at all surprised by the homophobia.
joeyty
@Bauhaus: But it’s the African-Americans refusing the marriage licenses. So…? I’m not saying the whites can’t be bad too, but I’m not letting you all lie about the situation either.
Ksb1978
@joeyty: There are more white homophobes than black but do people say the white people as a whole are a homophobic race? Yet you want to paint all black people here in the US as homophobic. We’ll be seeing your posts on white genocide next.
Kangol
@joeyty: R@cist scumbag, it’s your beloved WHITE REPUBLICAN judges who are anti-gay! WHITE! WHITE R@CISTS, just like you!
Liam
@Kangol: When was it ever hidden?
Liam
@joeyty: You’re wrong if you believe that percentage-wise Blacks are more homophobic than Whites. I grew-up in the South — at worst, the percentage of homophobes is the same.
joeyty
@Liam: No, I think more blacks are homophobic percentage-wise. Look how gays have faired in other places. Look at Vermont versus Mississippi. Look at Canada versus Jamaica. Look at Europe versus Africa. (Polls show African-Americans are getting a bit better, though).
Bauhaus
@joeyty:
Congratulations! You’ve won a “More Issues Than Vogue” coffee mug. Would you like it in white or black? Oops, silly question.
joeyty
@Bauhaus: white (or yellow, if I want a high I.Q. coffee mug)
1EqualityUSA
“More issues than Vogue” cute!