Paul Hard of Montgomery, Alabama filed a lawsuit that challenged the current law on the ban of recognizing same-sex marriages in the state. Citing a report by The Associated Press, Republican American said Hard's decision to challenge the legislation was spurred by the death of his husband, who died in a car accident.
The lawsuit filed by Hard is forcing Alabama to concede to the growing number of states that have abolished the ban on recognizing same-sex couples who had gotten legally married elsewhere. Hard's legal presentation said that the ban is unconstitutional that it treats gay and lesbian community in Alabama as second-class citizens.
Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer Samuel E. Wolfe, who represented the plaintiff, added, "The sanctity laws silence and demean lesbian and gay Alabamians by sending a clear message: You are less than other citizens and your relationships mean nothing here."
Hard claimed in the lawsuit that he was ignored by staff and management of the hospital as the legal husband of Charles David Fancher, where the latter was declared dead, said AP. An orderly informed him of his husband's death after hospital staff refused to provide him information about Fancher's condition simply because of the fact that he was not recognized as legally related. The plaintiff is also seeking recognition as the surviving spouse of Fancher in an ongoing litigation regarding his death.
AP said that in 1998, the Alabama Legislature approved the Defense of Marriage Act, which stipulated that Alabama will not be recognizing same-sex unions. In 2006, the ban was able to secure a majority vote from its citizens in the state constitution.
Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard criticized Hard's lawsuit, and said, "This lawsuit is part of a coordinated liberal agenda that is designed to erode the conservative Alabama values that the citizens of our state hold close to their hearts."
