Alabama Chief Justice Says Same-sex Marriage Licenses Should Not be Issued

The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the state's probate judges on Wednesday not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year legalizing gay marriage.

Chief Justice Roy Moore said the U.S. Supreme Court decision is at odds with earlier opinions by the state's highest court, resulting in "confusion and uncertainty" among probate judges.

While the Alabama Supreme Court weighs the issue, probate judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary" to the state's law banning same-sex marriage, Moore said. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Editing by Chris Reese)