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February 3, 2015 | by Chris Johnson
Eleventh Circuit won’t halt Alabama same-sex marriages
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same-sex marriage, gay news, Washington Blade
A federal appeals court won’t halt Alabama same-sex marriages.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined the opportunity to place a hold on same-sex marriages in Alabama, which are expected to begin Feb. 9 as a result of a district judge’s rulings against the state’s prohibition on gay nuptials.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order denying the request of Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to stay the decisions against the state’s marriage ban by U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade.
“The Attorney General of the State of Alabama’s motions for a stay pending appeal are DENIED,” the order states.
The three-judge panel that issued the order consists of U.S. Circuit Judge Gerald Tjofat, a Ford appointee; U.S. Circuit Judge Frank Hull, a Clinton appointee; and U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, another Clinton appointee.
The denial of the stay from the Eleventh Circuit was widely expected. In December, the court rejected a similar request from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to stay a decision in favor of marriage equality in Florida. That set up the path for same-sex marriage to come to the state Jan. 6.
Alabama still has another avenue to stop same-sex marriage from taking place in the state as the litigation proceeds on appeal: The U.S. Supreme Court. Strange can file another stay request with U.S. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who can decide the matter himself of refer the matter to the entire court.
But such a request would likely be met with the same response the Eleventh Circuit delivered. When Bondi sought a stay on Florida same-sex marriage from Thomas in December, the justice referred the request to full bench, which denied her request. The Supreme Court has also refused stay decisions on decisions in favor of same-sex marriage in states like Kansas, South Carolina, Alaska and Idaho
