The federal judge, Callie V.S. Granade of United States District Court in Mobile, issued a second ruling in favor of same-sex marriage in a separate Alabama case on Tuesday, but has stayed both rulings until Feb. 9.
Proponents of same-sex marriage contend that most of the state bills are almost certainly unconstitutional. And even in conservative-dominated statehouses, the chances of passage are unclear, given disagreements within the Republican Party on whether gay marriage should be a priority issue. Some experts say they could face sharp rebukes from judges who have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.
“I think they’ll be angry,” said Risa L. Goluboff, a law professor at the University of Virginia who studies American legal history. “I think they’ll see this as outright defiance and treat it that way.”
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