NPR

Same-Sex-Marriage Flashpoint Alabama Considers Getting Out Of The Marriage Business

Several rural probate judges quit issuing licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Now the state is considering doing away with marriage licenses.

Couples – gay or straight — looking for a marriage license in Pike County, Ala. won't get one from local probate judge Wes Allen.

"We have not issued any marriage licenses since Feb. 9, 2015," Allen says.

That's when a federal judge struck down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage. The state's then Chief Justice Roy Moore told local officials they weren't bound by the federal court ruling. That threw Alabama's marriage license system into chaos

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
From Pandemic To Protests, The Class Of 2024 Has Been Through A Lot
Pomp and circumstance again fall victim to circumstance for some students in the graduating class of 2024, as protests over the war in Gaza threaten to disrupt commencement ceremonies.
NPR2 min read
Short-term Loss For Long-term Gain? The Ethical Dilemma At The Heart Of EVs
As mines meet mineral demands for electric vehicles, they put communities and ecosystems at risk. Sustainability researcher Elsa Dominish says the EV industry cannot repeat fossil fuel's mistakes.
NPR4 min read
Yes, Apple's New IPad Ad Is Ugly And Crushing, But Art Can't Be Flattened
The newest iPad ad depicts instruments, books and art supplies flattened into Apple's thinnest product ever. But anyone who owns and loves art in any form knows: The practicality isn't the point.

Related Books & Audiobooks