Probate judges opposed to gay marriage stand firm

Allen and other probate judges in the state cite Alabama Code section 30-1-9, which says marriage licenses "may" be issued by them — not that they must issue them.

[...] Allen says, he is not in violation of any Supreme Court order. ...

Some judges and clerks in Texas have done the same, ordering their offices in the name of religious liberty and free speech to issue no marriage licenses at all.

Legal experts are dubious that religious freedom arguments will protect public officials who not only refuse to participate due to their own beliefs, but also decline to make accommodations so that others who don't object can serve the public instead.

The misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, is committed when a public servant "refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law or clearly inherent in the nature of his office."

After the Supreme Court declared that marriage is a constitutional right equally held by all Americans, clerks in Arkansas and Mississippi resigned Tuesday rather than be forced to sign the licenses of gays and lesbians.

[...] a small group also gathered to support Davis, demonstrating the stark divide that remains in the most theologically conservative stretches of the South and Midwest, where state leaders fought hard for years to prevent same-sex marriage.

"God did not elect her, I did," said Kevin Bass, a former police officer who arrived at the courthouse with his wife to support gay couples seeking licenses.