Officials in Mobile County, Alabama on
Friday resumed issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
County officials on Wednesday stopped
issuing marriage licenses to all couples after Alabama Supreme Court
Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order which said that probate
judges have a “ministerial duty” not to issue such licenses to
gay couples.
“Marriage license office in Mobile,
Alabama is back open! Congrats to the happy couple, Debbie and
Claire. #LoveWins,” the Campaign for Southern Equality tweeted
along with a photo of the two women applying for a license.
Democratic presidential candidate
Hillary
Clinton criticized Moore's order as “unconstitutional” and
the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed an ethics
complaint against Moore, asking for his removal from the bench.
Federal
prosecutors also weighed in, saying that Alabama probate judges
should obey the high court's ruling.
Two other counties which had also
suspended marriage license operations – Madison and Lawrence –
resumed Thursday.
In an interview with the AP, Moore
denied that he is defying the Supreme Court's June ruling that found
gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, claiming that his
order was an attempt to clarify confusion between conflicting orders
between state and federal courts.