Same-sex couples in Alabama are now barred from getting marriage licences in the state after Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered state officials on Wednesday to stop issuing these licences, citing the "confusion and uncertainty" among them.
Moore explained that the confusion stemmed from the fact that the Alabama Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage last March, according to NBC News.
On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June 2015 legalises same-sex marriages throughout the country.
The issue is even more complicated since the Supreme Court ruling applied only to four states whose bans were directly challenged—Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Moore believes that only the Alabama Supreme Court can resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, legal experts believe that Moore's imposed ban would be short-lived, and that probate judges would still uphold the Supreme Court's June ruling. "I'd be very surprised if any of the probate judges now refuse to issue licences to same-sex couples," said Randall Marshall of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Alabama.
He said probate judges who complied with Moore's orders and refused to issue same-sex marriage licences will risk being found in contempt of court for disobeying the Supreme Court's order.
Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United also echoed Marshall's statements. He said his group would be ready to take legal action against any probate judges who will refuse to issue same-sex marriage licences.
"I have a news flash for Roy Moore: the U.S. Supreme Court upheld marriage equality in June and the decision extends nationwide," he said. "All Alabama probate judges remain bound by a federal court order to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples."
Moreover, Moore's order seems to go against the ruling issued by a federal judge in Alabama back in May, which declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage as invalid. The judge also prohibited probate judges from denying marriage licences to gay couples.
