A federal judge has ordered an Alabama probate judge to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, in a ruling expected to force other holdout probate judges in the state to give marriage licenses to lesbians and gays. Judge Callie V.S. Granade's order takes effect immediately after she heard from lawyers for the gay couples who led the same-sex marriage lawsuit. "Plaintiffs' inability to exercise their fundamental right to marry has caused them irreparable harm that outweighs any injury to defendant," Granade wrote. Randall Marshall, the ACLU of Alabama's legal director said that "Judge Granade's ruling confirms that the U.S. Constitution requires Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to all qualified couples, gay or straight."
