A federal judge in Alabama will hold a hearing this week on whether to order a Mobile County official to start granting same-sex marriage licenses. The legal fight is only the latest in the state's gay marriage saga, after some Alabama counties began allowing same-sex couples to tie the knot Monday.
But most counties, including Mobile — the state's second-most populous — are refusing to comply after Judge Callie Granade struck down Alabama's gay-marriage ban last month. Granade is set to preside over the federal district court hearing in Mobile at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) Thursday. Late on Monday night, lawyers for four same-sex couples had asked her to add Mobile County's probate judge, Don Davis, to one of the lawsuits that would force officials to issue licenses.
One of the legal groups representing the four couples, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said they were pleased Granade would weigh in. “There have been multiple court proceedings in the last few weeks, and the steady trend of those decisions indicates that we are moving quickly toward full marriage equality in Alabama,” legal director, Shannon Minter, said in a statement.
IN-DEPTH
- Supreme Court Declines to Block Gay Marriage in Alabama
- Federal Judge Strikes Down Alabama's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
