Alabama files brief with Supreme Court defending states’ right to define marriage

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April 5, 2015

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The State of Alabama has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in support of states’ right to define marriage.

An amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief is a document filed by a group or individual who is not party to a case offering further information. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange filed the brief late last week.

“An overwhelming majority of Alabama voters approved our state’s constitutional amendment declaring marriage as between one man and one woman,” AG Strange said in a press release. “It is important that Alabamians’ views be represented before the Supreme Court and I filed this brief to make sure their voices are heard.”

The Supreme Court is expected begin hearing arguments on several cases involving state marriage laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman later this month.

Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban was struck down in January by federal district judge Callie Granade. Though the Alabama Supreme Court later instructed probate judges to discontinue giving marriage licenses to homosexual couples, gay marriages were legally performed in the state for approximately two weeks.

“This case is about more than marriage,” Strange said in the brief. “It is also about the proper role of the federal courts in scrutinizing state policy decisions. The presumption is state laws are constitutional… If the traditional definition of marriage is not a rational basis for legislative action, it is hard to imagine what is.”

AG Strange said his office partnered in developing the brief with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal non-profit, at no cost to taxpayers.

The High Court will hear oral arguments on April 28 on whether states can ban gay marriage. It is then expected to make a final ruling sometime in the summer.