State Supreme Court to hear request to stop same sex marriages

Chief Justice Roy Moore

The Alabama Supreme Court has agreed to consider an emergency request by two conservative groups seeking to stop the same-sex weddings that have been underway in Alabama for a week.

Gays and lesbians have been getting married in parts of Alabama since Monday after a federal judge declared Alabama's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

Justices by a 6-2 vote Friday agreed to hear an emergency petition brought by the Alabama Policy Institute and Alabama Citizens Action Program. The organizations are asking the justices to join the legal position of Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Moore has urged probate judges to refuse the licenses that he believes are still forbidden under Alabama law.

Attorney Eric Johnston said the action seeks to keep gay marriage “on hold” until the U.S. Supreme Court issues an anticipated ruling in June on whether gays and lesbians nationwide have a fundamental right to marry.

Moore argues that probate judges are not bound by the federal judge's decision because there were not defendants in the case. He also argues that probate judges, as members of the state judiciary, are part of a parallel court system and not under the authority of a district-level federal judge.

While the justices agreed to hear the petition, it is unclear how they will respond. The court set out a schedule for filing briefs.