I have several Updates to tell you about. The first is about the arguments over same-sex marriage in Alabama. As I said last week, a federal district court ruled that the state's can on same-sex marriage violates the US Constitution, but Roy Moore, chief justice of Alabama's state supreme court, ordered the county probate judges who issue marriage licenses to defy the order.However, after one probate judge was directly ordered by the federal court to issue such licenses to same-sex couples, most counties went along so that by the end of last week, February 13, at least 50 of Alabama's 67 counties had decided to follow the federal court order.
However, Judge MooreStupidThanYouCanImagine keeps at it, saying on February 15 that "a trial court's decision on the constitutionality of a federal question is just that, it's an opinion." Which makes sense if and only if he's claiming that the order of a federal district court has no legal force. Which he probably is, since he also earlier suggested that his court is on the same level as a federal circuit court of appeals, with only the US Supreme Court above him.
And his court has agreed to consider a petition by two groups of anti-homosexual bigots who want the court to issue a formal order, known as a writ of mandamus, to all probate judges in the state demanding that they do not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.On the other hand, Judge Steven Reed, who was the first probate judge in the state to announce he would issue same-sex marriage licenses, said he "didn't ask for [Moore's] opinion and frankly didn't need it." He admitted that same-sex marriage is still unpopular in Alabama, but said he and others who felt as he does are "on the right side of history where this is concerned."
Sources cited in links:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/15/steven-reed-roy-moore-ala_n_6687706.html
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/02/alabama_supreme_court_agrees_t.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mandamus
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