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The chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court has ordered the state's probate judges not to issue marriage license to same-sex couples — despite a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last year that legalized same-sex marriage in America.


Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, issued an administrative order Wednesday. He noted that the Supreme Court of Alabama had, in March of 2015, 

upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage

.
Three months later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, in 

"Confusion and uncertainty exist among the probate judges of this State as to the effect of Obergefell on the 'existing orders' " — that is, the March 2015 instructions that bans on same-sex marriage should be enforced, Moore wrote in his order.


He also suggests that the Supreme Court decision invalidates the marriage bans in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee — that is, the specific laws named in 

"I am not at liberty to provide any guidance to Alabama probate judges on the effect of Obergefell on the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court," he wrote. "That issue remains before the entire [Alabama Supreme] Court which continues to deliberate on the matter."

Instead, Moore argued that while the "legal analysis is yet to be determined," the "confusion" over the law has an adverse effect on the administration of justice in Alabama.

Based on that reasoning, he ordered that probate judges have "a ministerial duty" not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples — at least until the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision.


Moore has a history of facing off with the federal courts over this issue. In January 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Ginny Granade ruled that the state's marriage ban was unconstitutional. The next month, Moore instructed probate judges that they weren't bound by Granade's decision — leaving probate judges with 

.
Granade reaffirmed her rulings in May, and 

The chief federal prosecutors in Alabama issued this statement:

The Southern Poverty Law Center called Moore's order a "dead letter," writing that "in no way does his administrative order supersede Judge Granade's federal injunction."

"If probate judges violate the injunction, they can be held in contempt," the SPLC said in a statement. "This is Moore yet again confusing his role as chief justice with his personal anti-LGBT agenda."


Moore rose to prominence nearly 20 years ago, as the "Ten Commandments" judge — he hung a plaque with the religious edicts in his courtroom, and later, as chief justice, he put a monument to the commandments in the state judicial building. He was removed from office in 2003, when he defied a federal order to take down the monument, 

as NPR's Debbie Elliott reported last year

.
He was re-elected as Alabama chief justice in 2012.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore has instructed probate judges not to issue licenses to same-sex couples.

Alabama chief justice orders judges to enforce ban on same-sex marriage

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