Oklahoma and Alabama Laws Designed to Make It More Difficult for Gay and Lesbian Couples to Marry Will Backfire

News reports indicate that the Oklahoma House has approved a bill that transfers the power to issue marriage licenses from clerks of court to members of the clergy, and that the Alabama House has approved a bill that would explicitly authorize judges and members of the clergy to decline to officiate at specific marriages on account of religious objections. Neither law is constitutional. Both will have serious unintended consequences.

Bishop v. United States: Federal District Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

Since the decision of the United States Supreme Court six months ago in United States v. Windsor striking down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, courts in Utah, New Mexico, and Ohio have declared state laws against same-sex marriage to be in violation of the United States Constitution. Oklahoma now joins their ranks. The decision of the District Court Judge Terence C. Kern in that case (Bishop v. United States) has a number of noteworthy elements.