TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — A new court order has same-sex couples saying “I do” for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage on Friday.
“This order is crystal clear, and it should remove the cotton that Chief Justice Roy Moore has been stuffing in probate judges’ ears across this state,” said Human Rights Campaign Alabama director Patricia Todd in a press release. “Marriage equality must begin everywhere, and couples who have been waiting, in many cases, two or three decades to get married shouldn’t have to wait a minute longer.”
Despite Friday’s decision, some probate judges were still not issuing those marriage licenses, including in Tuscaloosa County.
As of Wednesday, the Tuscaloosa County courthouse is now issuing marriage licenses to all couples after an order from Federal Judge Callie Granade.
The order came into the courthouse around noon, stating that the court must abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Since then, the county is now issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
Only WIAT 42 news had cameras rolling when the very first same-sex couple came in and got their license.
Hali Felt & Jennifer Kenney tried to get that license on Friday, but were turned away.
“In some ways I feel like I’ve been holding my breath since Friday, and now I can exhale,” one of the women said.
Judge Granade’s order does not apply to counties that have stopped issuing marriage licenses all together.
Copyright 2015 WIAT 42 News
