On Monday, February 9th, the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is legal in Alabama. Alabama is the 37th state to have gay marriage legalized. Things looked positive when the ruling was announced and throughout the state, gay couples prepared for marriage on Monday. Lines were formed outside of courthouses before sunrise.

However, Roy Moore, the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, told probate judges in the state not to issue marriage licenses because the ruling was inconsistent with Alabama’s state constitution.  As many as 52 out of Alabama’s 67 counties refuses to accept the paperwork of those who wished to marry on Monday, according to Alan Blinder’s New York Times article.

This left judges throughout the state at a loss. In some cases, such as with Dinah McCaryer and Olanda Smith, the judge defied Justice Roy Moore’s ruling and married the couple.  Others were not so lucky, as was the case for Rose Rosyden and Beth Ridley. Judge James Hall, who was supposed to wed the couple explained, “I am caught in the middle of this,” and thus did not marry the couple.

These events bring back to memory the events that occurred at the University of Alabama in 1963.  Governor George Wallace, despite federal ruling, refused to allow black students enter the University of Alabama.

While this state ruling is frustrating for many couples in Alabama, it is important to note the progress that has been made.  In 2008, 81% of voters favored a constitutional ban on gay marriage.  That number has dropped to 27% today. Alabama was also the last state to overturn the ban on interracial marriage which didn’t happen until 2000, according to Aaron Blank’s article in the New York Times.

For now, it is up to individual judges as to whether they want to defy Moore and marry couples or not.  The New York Times expects there will be another hearing regarding this issue in April.