An Alabama probate judge is in no way inclined to follow his brother judge in Texas when it comes to compliance with the recent same sex marriage ruling by the US Supreme Court. Instead, he is arguing that the federal government should issue the licenses so that he, and other like minded officials, can avoid the performance of their duties under the auspices of fairness. Opponents have hit back at the suggestion stating that there exist no precedent for refusing to abide by a SCOTUS ruling and instances where it has been attempted in the past have accomplished nothing. The judge is currently asking the Alabama Supreme Court to step in and recognize marriages by the federal government or other states but not force officials to issue a license at all. As of now, no action has been taken by the Alabama Supreme Court on the judge’s suggestions.
See Kent Faulk, Alabama probate judge: Let federal government issue same-sex marriage licenses, AL.com, October 6, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
