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“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Monday, February 09, 2015

Marriage News Watch, February 9, 2015 (Updated)

Marriage starts today in Alabama, and the usual suspects are still trying to figure out some way to stop it. Nebraska accidentally passed a bill that will recognize gay and lesbian couples, but only when they're carrying a concealed firearm. And we're on a fast track for rulings in several southern states.


More on Roy Moore's hail Mary:


There's this little thing called "the Supremacy Clause" in the U.S. Constitution that makes Moore's posturing just that. The governor's office had no comment. The probate judges had a mixed reaction:

Some judges across the state had already signaled they would do nothing to aid gay couples and, in some instances, any couples. “Marriage licenses and ceremonies are no longer available at the Pike County Probate Office,” the office said.

And Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams released a “declaration in support of marriage” in which he said he would “only issue marriage licenses and solemnize ceremonies consistent with Alabama law and the U.S. Constitution; namely, between one man and one woman only, so help me God. . . ."

“With all due respect to Chief Justice Moore, he’s on the Alabama Supreme Court, and he’s not a federal judge,” said Alan L. King, a probate judge in Jefferson County, said last week. . . .

“I don’t want to see judges make the same mistakes that I think were made in this state 50 years ago, where you have state officials not abiding by federal orders,” said Judge Steven L. Reed of Montgomery County, who added, “The legacy always hangs over us until we show that we’re beyond it.”

I noted Huckabee's comments in this post.

And here's a story about the legislator who says that same-sex marriage will be "too expensive."

And that's it for now.

Update: Marriages have begun in Alabama.

And the map:


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