Same-sex marriage is set to begin in Alabama next week, making it the 37th state in the US where the practice is legal.
The 11th circuit court of appeals on Tuesday denied a request to extend a temporary hold on a federal judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s ban last month. Couples will be eligible to apply for marriage licences on 9 February.
US district court judge Callie Granade ruled against the state’s ban in two separate cases in January. She granted a 14-day stay on the cases to give state officials the opportunity to appeal the decision to the circuit court. A three-judge panel denied that appeal. The Alabama attorney general’s office immediately filed an appeal to the US supreme court.
The first case was brought by a couple, Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, who were legally married in California. Searcy sought spousal adoption rights for McKeand’s biological son.
“Those children currently being raised by same-sex parents in Alabama are just as worthy of protection and recognition by the state as are the children being raised by opposite-sex parents,” Granade wrote.
The couple’s attorney, Christine Hernandez, told al.com that the couple is prepared to refile adoption papers once the order goes into effect.
“It’s already signed and ready to go,” Hernandez said. “The Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed.”
The second case was brought by James Strawser and John Humphrey, who are seeking the right to marry in Alabama. They have not been married in another state.
Ben Cooper, the board chair of Equality Alabama board chair, said the 11th circuit’s ruling is a reflection of Alabama’s family values.
“The 11th Circuit did the right thing today for all committed couples and their families in Alabama,” Cooper said in a statement. “Marriage for same-sex couples will give gay people the respect and dignity their commitments deserve, as well as tangible protections in order to build their lives together.”
In an unusual move following Granade’s decision, the chief justice of Alabama’s state supreme court, Roy Moore, sent a letter to governor Robert Bentley urging him to ignore the ruling. In the letter, Moore also advised state judges to not issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. This prompted Granade to issue an order clarifying that state judges would have to uphold her decision and allow for these marriages if the stay were lifted.
Moore’s letter defied a wave of rulings that have struck down these bans across the US in the past two years.
Last month, the US supreme court agreed to take up four same-sex marriage cases, meaning it will consider the issue for the first time since it struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013. That decision led individual state bans to fall at an unexpected speed and now the court is set to decide for the country as a whole whether any states have the right to prohibit same-sex marriage.
On Tuesday, the 8th US circuit court of appeals agreed to hear arguments from three more states defending gay marriage bans.
The St Louis-based federal appeals court granted a request to consider an appeal from South Dakota – combined with arguments from Arkansas and Missouri – at an expedited pace. The Associated Press reported arguments would be heard the week of 11 May in Nebraska, a month after the supreme court hears its cases.
