Same-sex weddings halt in state after court’s order

Caraleigh Jackett and her fiance, Von Simpkins, bought airfare, reserved a wedding venue and were expecting family to arrive at their wedding Thursday in Calhoun County.

Those plans came to a halt after the lesbian couple from Texas arrived in Alabama on Wednesday morning.

Calhoun County Probate Judge Alice Martin and probate judges statewide had stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples a day after the state Supreme Court ruled that judges should stop the practice.

Martin, speaking at her office on Wednesday, cited the ruling as her reason to stop licensing same-sex marriages.

Shirley Miller, chief clerk at the Probate Office, said the office had issued 17 licenses to same-sex couples since it began doing so Feb. 11.

The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling late Tuesday was in response to a federal judge's January ruling that overturned Alabama's same-sex marriage ban. Tuesday’s order came at the request of two conservative groups, the Alabama Policy Institute and the Alabama Citizens Action Program.

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According to the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign, 48 of Alabama’s 67 counties were issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couple before Tuesday’s ruling. Wednesday afternoon none were, according to the group.

In an emailed statement to The Star on Wednesday, the Alabama Policy Institute applauded the state Supreme Court’s ruling.

"This decision by the Alabama Supreme Court finally, in the words of Justice Scalia, gives the people of Alabama the respect that they deserve by preserving our law until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves the issue," according to the statement. "The sanctity of marriage — an institute that has always been reserved for the states — is a cause worth fighting for, for as long as the States still have their rightful say in the matter."

Tuesday’s ruling stated that probate judges would have five days to submit responses if they want to show cause why they should be able to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Miller said Judge Martin had no immediate plans to submit such a response, and that Martin’s decision not to do so was in line with the decisions of most of the state’s probate judges.

The order has caused much confusion, anger and heartbreak for same-sex couples who were planning to wed in Alabama, said Mandi Long, an Anniston resident who had officiated weddings for 16 same-sex couples in the weeks since judges in the state began allowing same-sex unions.

Jackett said by phone Wednesday that she and her fiance spent more than $1,000 renting a wedding venue and paying for airfare, and that they chose Alabama so that family living in Georgia could easily attend.

The couple had read news accounts late Tuesday on the state Supreme Court ruling, Jackett said, but had hoped some probate judges would issue same-sex couples marriage licenses regardless, as the Jefferson County Probate Judge Alan King had done following Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s order attempting to prevent the practice in February.

Jackett said she called Martin’s office shortly after arriving in Alabama on Wednesday morning and learned the judge would not issue them a license.

When she learned that King had also halted allowing same-sex unions Jackett said "that was our final hope."

"I’m heartbroken. I’m devastated," Jackett said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue of same-sex marriage nationwide by June, and a ruling in favor of such marriages could strike down state bans.

Advocates for same-sex marriage predicted the ruling’s effect would not last long.

"Because of the Alabama Supreme Court's willingness to ignore their oath of office, all Alabama's counties appear to be in conflict with the intent of a federal court order," wrote HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow in a statement Wednesday. "This is only a temporary setback on the road to equality, but the message it sends to LGBT Alabamians is despicable."

Jackett said she still plans to marry her partner of six years, but "not in Alabama."

"It’s not about gay or straight. it’s about American civic rights," Jackett said. "I go to work everyday. I pay my taxes. I vote just like everybody else."

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