The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a set of petitions filed by conservative religious groups who want the state's ban on same-sex marriages enforced.
The petitions filed by the Alabama Policy Institute, the Alabama Citizens Action Program and Elmore County's probate judge had sought a landmark ruling declaring the state's ban on gay marriage still stands in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 94-page concurring opinion, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered to dismiss all pending motions and petitions by the conservative groups, The Washington Post reports. The order ends the groups' legal avenue to pursue their claims againts same-sex marriage.
However, while dismissing the petitions Alabama justices, Chief Justice Moore still expressed their strong disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. The judge said in the opinion that previous state orders barring same-sex marriage remain and are valid under the federal constitution.
Justice Moore also analyzed the arguments by the four U.S. Supreme Court Justices who voted against the legalization of gay marriage.
In the concurring opinion, Moore also wrote about the supremacy of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions and that it is not absolute.
The president of the Alabama civil rights group the Southern Law Poverty Center, Richard Cohen, said he applauded the Friday decision but said the court did not go far enough, Reuters reports.
Cohen said he wished that the court's ruling was stronger and criticized state high court justices who dissented against the ruling.
The executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program, Joe Godfrey, said the group might turn to the state legislature for laws that would protect judges and clerks from having to perform same-sex unions against their religious convictions.
The Alabama Policy Institute's attorney Eric Johnston said the Alabama justice's ruling ends their petitions. However, Johnston said, all strongly expressed disagreement with Obergefell but as a matter of the rule of law they had to follow it, Alabama News reports.
Johnston said that lawyers for the groups and probate judges will be talking but the initial thought is that they can't do anything with that particular case. The groups had hoped to get a decision from the Alabama Supreme Court upholding their previous order that told probate judges not to issue the licenses.
The court battle started in January 2015 when a federal judge in Alabama overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The Mobile County probate court said that it would stop issuing marriage licenses to anyone, gay or straight, until further notice.
