The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, has condemned an Alabama
Supreme Court ruling ordering probate judges to stop issuing marriage
licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Two conservative groups, the Alabama
Policy Institute and the Alabama Citizens Action Program, turned to
the state's highest court after a federal judge struck down the
state's ban on gay marriage last month.
In its 148-page ruling, the court
concluded that “probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue
any marriage license contrary to” state law.
(Related: Alabama
Supreme Court orders judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay
couples.)
“The Alabama state Supreme Court does
not have the authority to interfere with a federal court order,”
said
Sarah Warbelow, legal director at HRC. “This order is
outrageous and baffling, and no amount of legalese can hide the bare
animus that forms the foundation of this extralegal ruling.”