Alabama lawmakers approved a proposal Thursday to stop issuing marriage licenses after several years of conservative probate judges refusing to issue the documents to same-sex couples.
The House of Representatives voted 67-26 to advance a bill that would create marriage certificates that don’t have to be signed by a judge. Instead, couples would submit a form to a probate judge saying they meet the legal requirements of marriage and the judge would record it as the official marriage document.
The bill won approval from the Senate and awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.
