Gay Marriage Back On in Big Alabama County

It looks like supporters of gay marriage can celebrate again in Alabama. The state has been stuck between two rulings on same-sex marriage—a federal judge said yes-you-can, and a state judge said oh-no-you-can't—and the confusion caused Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis to put everything on hold this week and seek legal clarity. This evening, the federal judge provided it—at least in Mobile County, reports the Wall Street Journal. US District Judge Callie Granade ordered Davis to comply with her original ruling, and the county immediately reopened its marriage license office and began issuing licenses to gay couples, reports AP.

What remains unclear is whether probate judges elsewhere in the state will follow suit, reports Al.com. Prior to today, 23 of the state's 67 counties were already complying with Granade's order, while 44 were siding with Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's view that they didn't need to do so. Moore says he's still studying today's ruling, but “I feel just like I felt earlier," he says. "This is a wrongful intrusion into the jurisdiction of the probate courts in Alabama.” (More Alabama stories.)