11th Circuit refuses to stay same-sex marriage ruling; Alabama AG turns to SCOTUS
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Same-sex marriage in Alabama is expected to begin shortly, following an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal decision Tuesday.
According to the Alabama Media Group, the 11th Circuit denied a state request to stay a lower federal court ruling, which found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The filing asked the 11th Circuit to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court reaches a decision in a pending appeal, granted cert (PDF) on Jan. 16. That appeal which focuses on whether the 14th Amendment requires states to license same-sex marriages, and if it requires states to recognize same-sex marriages licensed out-of-state.
On Jan. 24, U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade found (PDF) that the Alabama Marriage Protection Act was unconstitutional. The case was filed on behalf of Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, a same-sex couple who legally married in California. They now reside in Alabama, and want Searcy to adopt McKeand’s biological son, who is 8.
The Alabama attorney general’s office has said it will appeal the stay denial to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alabama Media Group reports.
“I am disappointed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court’s decision not to stay the federal district court’s ruling,” wrote Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange in a news release. “The confusion that has been created by the district court’s ruling could linger for months until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves this issue once and for all.”
The release reports that Strange has asked the Supreme Court to stay the ruling until its own decision is announced in June.
