Southern Judges Continue to Defy SCOTUS on Marriage Equality

Billy Corriher highlights how, after June's U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteed marriage equality for same-sex couples, elected justices in the South continue to place politics before the law.

It’s been nearly five months since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges guaranteed the freedom to marry for same-sex couples throughout America. Most state courts with pending marriage cases promptly implemented the ruling. Today, around 99.9 percent of Americans live in counties issuing marriage licenses to all couples. But in the counties where same-sex couples continue to be denied the right to marry, elected judges are casting aside their duty to follow the law for political reasons.

In Alabama — where justices run in partisan races — probate judges in 13 counties still refuse to issue any marriage licenses. Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges not to issue licenses to same-sex couples, despite a federal court ruling the state’s marriage equality ban unconstitutional.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Advocate. Click here to view the full article.

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