Alabama Republicans Seek To Eliminate Same Sex Marriages By Passing Law Eliminating State Marriage Licenses

A bill that seeks to eliminate marriage licenses in Alabama has cleared the Alabama Senate.

The bill would replace marriage licenses with affidavits and couples would not be obligated to participate in a marriage ceremony. In Alabama, probate judges issue such licenses.

The bill cleared the Senate with a 19-1 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives, AL.com reported.

Republican Senator Greg Albritton first introduced his bill ahead of a landmark 2015 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry. At the time, Albritton predicted that without his legislation chaos would follow if the nation's highest court struck down state bans on marriage.

“My goal is to protect the state,” Albritton said at the time.

After the Supreme Court handed down its ruling, more than a dozen Alabama counties initially stopped issuing marriage licenses rather than serve gay couples.