Alabama high court orders halt to same-sex marriage licenses
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1 OF 2. A couple displaying their marriage license reacts after receiving flowers as they leave Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama in this file photo taken February 9, 2015.
CREDIT: REUTERS/MARVIN GENTRY/FILES
(Reuters) - The Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges on Tuesday to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in apparent defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court, underscoring the depth of opposition to gay matrimony in the socially conservative state.
The 7-1 ruling comes roughly three weeks after U.S. District Judge Callie Granade's decision overturning Alabama's ban on gay marriage went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to put it on hold.
"As it has done for approximately two centuries, Alabama law allows for 'marriage' between only one man and one woman," Tuesday's state supreme court ruling said. "Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to this law.
"Nothing in the United States Constitution alters or overrides this duty."
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