Alabama judges turn to Jim Crow-era law to combat same-sex marriages
Alabama judges are rediscovering a Jim Crow-era law in their efforts to stymie same-sex couples from getting marriage licenses.
The Associated Press reported Monday that a law passed in 1961 in Alabama—likely designed to combat integregation and miscegenation— is being invoked by some state judges to combat same-sex marriage. Citing the 1961 law, judges in at least nine of Alabama’s 67 counties have stopped issuing any marriage licenses since the Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriages in June. The AP reports that the law, which says judicial officials “may” issue marriage licenses instead of “shall” issue marriage licenses, had been long-forgotten until now.
“It is a religious freedom issue, but more than that I believe it is a constitutional issue,” said Nick Williams, a Baptist minister who also serves as probate judge in Washington County, to the AP. Williams also told the AP that he would go to jail before he issued a license to a same-sex couple—citing the example of Kim Davis in Kentucky.
According to the AP, because of the actions of these judges, there is now a region in southwestern Alabama where 78,000 people cannot get marriage licenses in their own counties. As such, some affected residents have to travel hours in order to find a county that will issue them a license.
“I pay taxes here, and it’s kind of ridiculous that I can’t get a license here,” said Bo Keahey, an attorney, to the AP. Keahey and fiancee Hannah Detlefsen had to drive two hours to another county in Alabama in order to get a license for their upcoming wedding in November.
The AP noted that the legislature never stated an explicit reason why it enacted the 1961 law. However, historians note that the law was consistent with a raft of other laws designed to combat racial integration. The AP also cited former Gov. Albert Brewer, who was a member of state legislature that passed the law. Brewer said that impeding interracial marriage could have been one of the reasons for the law.“Certainly they were talking about miscegenation at the time,” he recalled.
While the Supreme Court outlawed all interracial marriage bans in 1967, Alabama did not formally repeal its ban on interracial marriages until 2000.
Updated on Oct. 6 to fix a typo.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Alabama probate judge says federal government could issue same-sex marriage licenses”
