A federal judge struck down two Alabama laws banning same-sex marriage Friday, making it one of dozens of states where it is now legal for gays and lesbians to marry.
In a 10-page decision, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade for the Southern District of Alabama said that an amendment to the state’s constitution banning the recognition of gay marriage, and another law prohibiting same-sex marriage licenses from being issued, violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.
The Alabama case was brought by Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, a lesbian couple who married in California. Searcy attempted to adopt McKeand’s 8-year-old son, but was denied on the grounds that the state of Alabama did not recognize her as as McKeand’s spouse.
Calling marriage a “fundamental right protected by the Constitution,” Granade said the laws were an “irrational way of promoting biological relationships in Alabama.”
