In a 5-4 opinion released this morning, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down same-sex marriage bans across the nation, including in Alabama. According to the opinion delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, same-sex marriage is now a fundamental right. Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas and Justice Alito filed dissenting opinions.
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan made the following response:
“With the decision of the United States Supreme Court today to remove state barriers for the implementation of same-sex marriage in America, Alabama’s 2006 Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, which was approved by a landslide 81% of the vote of our people, was ignored and buried. Our country is a republic and our state’s rights should be upheld, but Alabama was told today by five judges in Washington, DC that our voices are mute and the 697,591 Alabamians that voted and made our state’s decision to deny marriage licenses to members of the same sex is null and void.
“‘Replicating marriage of or between persons of the same sex in the State of Alabama or in any other jurisdiction shall be considered and treated in all respects as having no legal force or effect in this state and shall not be recognized by this state as a marriage or other union replicating marriage.’ – the people of Alabama, 2006.
“Our boundaries have been breached once again by the overreaching hand of the federal judicial system. The majority of the people in Alabama lost their voice today. Alabamians are kind and loving people and our reputation for our hospitality and care for others is known across the land, however we also guard our rights to make our own decisions. Today Alabama’s vast majority on this topic was silenced.
“The next President of the United States may have the opportunity to nominate 2-3 Supreme Court Justices and countless Federal Judges throughout the country. That is why the 2016 presidential election is so very critical. If Hillary Clinton and the Democrats maintain the White House, they will further pack the courts with activist judges. We need a strong Republican nominee that will appoint strictly constitutional conservative judges on our benches throughout our nation.”
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Click here to read the Supreme Court ruling in its entirety.