The U.S. Supreme Court has notified attorneys for the state of Alabama and plaintiffs that there will be no ruling this weekend on the state's request for a stay of Judge Callie Granade's ruling striking down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage.
Translation: The court has decided not to decide, which is tantamount to allowing the ruling to stand.
David Kennedy, an attorney for plaintiffs Kim McKeand and Cari Searcy in Mobile, said he expects same-sex marriage licenses to be issued first thing Monday morning. He said it is somewhat unusual that the high court would not rule one way or the other since the justices of issued rulings on request to delay gay marriages from beginning in other states.
"I haven't seen one that moved this quickly, either," he said, noting that the state's petition to the court is less than a week old. "It seems like its moved pretty quickly."
There are already plans in Birmingham for weddings downtown at the city's Linn Park fountain. Should be quite an occasion, certainly one I never thought I would see in Alabama in my lifetime.
But all things do change, even here.
The Supreme Court's non-decision decision may have broader implications. It would have been easy to issue a stay with the justification that the court will decide the issue nationally this summer. The fact that they are allowing the ruling to take effect on Monday may indicate how they plan to rule this summer.
Or not. You can never be sure what the court will do. But the signs do appear favorable.