Third time the charm? Senate passes bill to get probate judges out of marriages
Published 11:20 am Wednesday, March 8, 2017
- In this Times file photo, Cullman native Chris Adams holds a "Who Defines Marriage" sign on the steps of the Cullman County Courthouse. Adams, who identifies as a Christian, said he came out in an effort to remind locals of the Biblical definition of marriage.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Despite failing the past two consecutive legislative sessions, a bill that would no longer require probate judges to sign off on marriage licenses heads to the state house.
The measure is legislators’ attempt to address a handful of Alabama probate judges who continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses to anyone so they do not have to give them to gay couples after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled gay marriage was lawful in 2015.
Senators voted 22-6 for the bill Tuesday. The measure now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, voted in favor of the bill.
Instead of a license signed by the probate judge, Republican Sen. Greg Albritton’s bill would require couples to file a form and affidavit with the probate judge to record their marriages.
Similar legislation failed to win final approval in the last two legislative sessions.
As of late 2016, probate judges in Autauga, Choctaw, Clarke, Cleburne, Covington, Elmore, Pike and Washington counties weren’t issuing marriage licenses.
