title:  Alabama’s Latest Assault On Gay Marriage Is Great News For Kim Davis Wannabes
text: Since the Supreme Court s ruling that legalized gay marriage, no state has worked quite as hard as Alabama to see to it that the Christian right s dependency on bigotry to exist is protected at all costs. This week the state senate took the next step in the battle against bigots and zealots having to acknowledge the law of the land by passing a bill that eliminates marriage licenses in the state altogether.Yes, rather than forcing clerks and judges to put their stamp of approval on what will undoubtedly cause the end of civilization as we know it, Senate Bill 143 takes the state completely out of the marriage game. Residents would instead sign affidavits of a civil union, which clerks would receive and record. That way, when the trumpets sound and the archangel Gabriel descends to turn Mobile into salt, those who issue marriage licenses will be able to stand at the pearly gates and plead their case to St. Peter with a clean conscience.The bill, which reads, All requirements to obtain a marriage license by the State of Alabama are hereby abolished and repealed. The requirement of a ceremony of marriage to solemnize the marriage is abolished,  has been dubbed the  three way bill  by critics because it makes marriage between two people and their attorney. State Senator Greg Albritton told reporters: When you invite the state into those matters of personal or religious import, it creates difficulties. Early twentieth century, if you go back and look and try to find marriage licenses for your grandparents or great grandparents, you won t find it. What you will find instead is where people have come in and recorded when a marriage has occurred. Early twentieth century, if you go back and look, was a time before marriages had to be legal for income tax purposes because there was no income tax. It makes no difference what way Alabama Republicans try to spin it, this is bill is designed to save Christians from having to treat the gay community as people under any circumstances. The proposed law would still maintain a few state requirements for a civil marriage contract: Minors between the ages of 16 and 18 would still need parental permission and the state would refuse to record a marriage contract if either party was already married or related by blood or adoption.The funny thing is, had every state adopted a law just like this one when the issue came about, there would have been no need for a court case or a SCOTUS ruling. Two people dedicated to each other could enjoy all of the legal and tax advantages of their union while still being free to marry as their faith allows or requires, without interference from bigots at the clerk s office.We would also have had the added advantage of never having to hear the name Kim Davis.Featured image from AlabamaConnection.org