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 Because U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade did not place a
stay on her ruling, same-sex couples could be eligible to apply for
marriage licenses when clerk's offices open, which gay rights
advocates said could be as soon as Saturday.
Granade, an appointee of President George W. Bush, found that the
ban does not further Alabama's goal of protecting the ties between
children and their biological parents, and that it is harmful to the
children of same-sex parents.
"Those children currently being raised by same-sex parents in
Alabama are just as worthy of protection and recognition by the
state as are the children being raised by opposite-sex parents," she
wrote.
 The ruling comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to
decide whether states can ban gay marriage. The Supreme Court's
ruling, which will stem from cases concerning marriage restrictions
in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, is due by the end of
June.
The Alabama Attorney General's Office said in a statement that it
plans to ask to have Granade's ruling put on hold pending the
Supreme Court's decision.
The case was brought by a lesbian couple legally married in
California. The couple, Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, sought for
Searcy to be able to adopt McKeand's biological son under a
provision of Alabama law allowing for the adoption of a "spouse's
child."
They lost their case in an Alabama probate court and a state appeals
court before going to federal court.
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Gay rights advocates hailed the decision.
"Judge Granade's ruling today affirms what we already know to be
true – that all loving, committed Alabama couples should have the
right to marry," said Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah
Warbelow in a statement.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's office expressed disappointment
with the ruling.
"The people of Alabama voted in a constitutional amendment to define
marriage between a man and a woman," Jennifer Ardis, Bentley's
spokeswoman, said in a statement. "The governor is disappointed with
the ruling today, and we will review the decision to decide the next
steps."
(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; Editing by Cynthia
Johnston, Sandra Maler and Mohammad Zargham)
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