Alabama gay rights news

Now advancing throughout the Alabama legislature are a series of bills that would slowly chip away the rights of the LGBTQ community, including by limiting LGBTQ discussions in classrooms. Latest Stories U. By Pete Williams. LGBTQ rights in Alabama —a Republican Party stronghold located in both the Deep South and greater Bible Belt —are severely limited in comparison to.

The chief justice of Alabama's supreme court ordered state officials Wednesday to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Alabama state House of Representatives passed three anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the same day. But Moore's order ignores what's been happening in the federal courts.

Roy Moore, acting in his capacity as the administrative head of the state court system, said he was acting because "confusion and uncertainty" exists among the Alabama officials, known as probate judges, who issue marriage licenses in the state. Any probate judges who did so would risk being found in contempt of court for disobeying the federal judge's order, he said.

The confusion persists, he said, because the June ruling applied immediately only to the four states whose bans were directly challenged — Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. NBC News Logo. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. IE 11 is not supported.

But legal experts say the effect of his order is likely to be minimal and short-lived. Alabama lawmakers have advanced legislation that would prohibit teacher-led discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools and also ban Pride flags from being displayed in classrooms.

Skip to Content. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the U.S. state of Alabama have federal protections, but still face legal challenges and discrimination on the state level that is not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage nullified the earlier decision of Alabama's Supreme Court.

That assessment also came from a group that has vowed to take legal action against any probate judge who refuses to issue the licenses agreed. Search Search. Moore said they don't know whether to abide by a ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court last March, which upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage, or the U.

Supreme Court's ruling in June declaring such bans unconstitutional. Sections U. Follow NBC News. Supreme Court upheld marriage equality in June and the decision extends nationwide," said The Rev. Barry Lynn, of Americans United. A federal judge in Alabama issued a ruling in May, declaring the state's ban on same-sex marriage invalid and forbidding probate judges to deny marriage licenses to gay couples.

Republicans approved the bills Thursday, which included an expansion of the state's "Don't Say Gay" law to. Profile My News Sign Out. Sign In Create your free profile.