You say that Alabama is going to stop sanctioning marriages. THEY ARE! You are shown that is untrue, NO IT'S NOT.
Under the proposed legislation Alabama would still have state sanctioned marriages. Let me repeat that in case you somehow didn't understand. Under the proposed law, the one you are touting as a removal of state sanctioned marriage, Alabama would still have state sanctioned marriage.
And let me repeat, no they won't. If we need to go through this again, we can.
The elimination of marriage licenses means the state is no longer recognizing marriage of any kind. They're not recognizing it, endorsing it or sanctioning it. If you wish to believe otherwise, that's perfectly fine with me, you won't have a problem with Alabama's new law.
Explain which part of this, the opening of the proposed bill, removes state sanctioned marriage?
To amend Sections 22-9A-17, 30-1-5, 30-1-12, 30-1-13, and 30-1-16 of the Code of Alabama 1975, to abolish the requirement that a marriage license be issued by the judge of probate and replace existing state statutory marriage law with a statutory contract for marriage; to provide that a marriage would be entered into by contract; to provide that the judge of probate would record each contract of marriage presented to the probate court for recording and would forward the contract to the Office of Vital Statistics; to provide for the content of a properly executed contract of marriage; to confirm the continued existence of common law marriage in Alabama; and to repeal Sections 30-1-9, 30-1-10, 30-1-11, and 30-1-14 of the Code of Alabama 1975.
There would still be 'a statutory contract for marriage'. Marriage would be 'entered into by contract'. A judge would '
record each contract of marriage'. It would 'provide for the content of a properly executed contract of marriage'. It would 'confirm the continued existence of common law marriage in Alabama'. Where is state sanctioned marriage ended by any of this?
You say the elimination of marriage licenses means the state is no longer recognizing marriage, but the text of the bill contradicts that, multiple times.
I am not going to argue statutory requirements and rules of law, that's public record. It seems to me it clearly states that marriage licenses will no longer be issued by the probate judge. Therefore, there is no more state sanctioning of marriages. Matters of contract between parties is not marriage, it's contracts between parties. The State is not sanctioning, endorsing or recognizing any aspect of any private contract intent. That is between the parties not the State. The text of the bill doesn't contradict this at all, it's essentially what it establishes.
What is happening is, you have tried to twist my OP around and make it appear that I have argued the State removing itself from endorsing gay marriages is an end to gay marriage. That is not what my OP says or my argument. If that is what you believe my argument is, you need to go and read the OP again because you've misinterpreted me.
People can arrange contracts for virtually anything they want to, they always have been able to do this. Gay couples have been doing this for longer than "Gay Marriage" has been around. So no matter what is done on Gay Marriage, people will still always have that option just as it has always been. Nothing is going to change that. Even a Constitutional Amendment that marriage is between a man and woman, would not stop private two-party contractual agreements in America... they would still exist and gay couples would still have that option.
The State is not compelled to recognize the nature of any domestic partnership. There is no requirement of them to do so and the Constitution doesn't say they have to. And this is what you are now going to see happening. States are going to get out of the marrying business.
I happen to think that is Step 1 in killing gay marriage. Once the State no longer sanctions it, no longer affords any benefit to it or for it... the motivation to do it becomes unimportant. Contract law will cover the bases, there is no need for "marriage" per say. We will see fewer and fewer gay couples bothering with the formalities. In 20 years it will be a curiosity.