Calhoun County to begin issuing same sex marriage licenses today

Judge Alice Martin

The Calhoun County's probate office will start licensing marriages between same-sex couples starting today, Probate Judge Alice Martin declined to explain the reason for the change in policy, saying she'd make a statement today. 

Same-sex marriage spread further across Alabama Tuesday as more courthouses issued licenses to gays and lesbians, yet some counties still defied a federal judge’s order, so couples took their fight back to court.

The dispute and confusion headed toward a showdown in federal court set for Thursday in Mobile, where gay couples have waited for two days in a courthouse after officials quit issuing marriage licenses altogether – even for heterosexual couples – rather than sell them to same-sex couples.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore threw the state into disarray when, at the 11th hour, he ordered probate judges not to allow gay marriages. He gave the order even though a federal judge ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional and the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the marriages to begin Monday.

Despite Moore’s order, hundreds of jubilant couples have received marriage licenses in large cities, including Montgomery, Huntsville and Birmingham, making Alabama the 37th state where gays have legally wed.

At least 19 of the state’s 67 counties had issued wedding licenses to same-sex couples or said Tuesday they would do so, compared to just seven on Monday. The exact number of counties refusing to sell licenses wasn’t immediately clear.