Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange
has asked a federal judge to stay her ruling striking down the
state's ban on gay marriage.
Such unions are prohibited under state
law and a constitutional amendment approved by 81 percent of voters
in 2006. U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade on Friday ruled that both
violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
(Related: Federal
judge declares Alabama's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.)
In filing its request for a stay, Strange's office
said that it was disappointed in the decision and argued that there
would be widespread confusion if “marriages are recognized on an
interim basis that are ultimately determined to be inconsistent with
Alabama law.”
He asked Granade to put the ruling on
hold until the Supreme Court rules in a similar case, “resolving
the issues on a nation-wide basis.”