A young, black lesbian couple received the first ever gay marriage license in Alabama on Monday.
Alabama is the 37th state in America where gay people can now marry, a history that extends back to 2004 when Massachusetts became the first state in the union to allow same sex marriages.
On Monday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alabama’s late-Sunday night attempt to stop a federal trial judge’s same-sex marriage legalization order 7-2. Only Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Immediately, same-sex marriage activists and newly wedded couples celebrated the ruling. Photos and stories have been posted online all morning.
https://twitter.com/alanblinder/status/564794503312465921
https://twitter.com/alanblinder/status/564798974989959169
Cari and Kim brought the lawsuit that won the freedom to marry in Alabama. Pls RT to thank them! #ALMarriage pic.twitter.com/yhbrtYP1kD
— Southern Equality (@SouthernEqual) February 9, 2015
First couple wed in Birmingham, #ALMarriage Dee and Laura Bush http://t.co/t4ox8WB3de #LoveCantWait via @HRC pic.twitter.com/vjLAuwQmLt
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 9, 2015
https://twitter.com/OneAlabama/status/564800239325155328
This year is set to be a landmark one in the history of same-sex marriage in the United States.
Beginning in April, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether same-sex couples can marry nationwide. The Alabama decision is widely seen as a signal on how many of the justices will vote in June, when those arguments conclude.
Illustration via Max Fleishman
