Two years after registering their California marriage license with the Mobile County Probate Court as an act of protest, a Mobile couple gathered with supporters this week to mark a legal turning point in their nine-year fight for recognition under Alabama law.
Cari Searcy and her spouse, Kim McKeand, are the lead plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that led U.S. District Judge Callie “Ginny” Granade to declare Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Granade briefly put her ruling on hold to give the Alabama Attorney General’s Office time to seek review from a federal appeals court, a delay Searcy said did not diminish her optimism.
“It has been an emotional rollercoaster,” Searcy told reporters gathered in Mobile. “We are ecstatic about the ruling and couldn’t be happier… We just have to wait a couple more weeks. No big deal. We’ve been waiting nine years.” McKeand added, “I feel blessed… I’m still dancing.”
Away from the news conference, the scene at probate offices across southwest Alabama remained calm. No same-sex couples were reported waiting at the Mobile or Baldwin County probate offices seeking marriage licenses once word of the temporary delay spread. In Baldwin County, Probate Judge Tim Russell was out of the office that day due to a family death, leaving Chief Clerk David Wood, the only other staff member authorized to perform marriages at the Bay Minette office, minding day-to-day operations as usual.
For Searcy and McKeand, the ruling carries weight well beyond the marriage license itself. It opens the door for Searcy to pursue a second-parent adoption of the 9-year-old boy the couple has raised together since birth. Because Alabama had not recognized their marriage, only McKeand held legal parental status as the birth mother, leaving Searcy without authority to make medical or other decisions for their son. Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis had previously rejected Searcy’s adoption petition, a decision a state appeals court upheld in 2012.
The couple said they briefly considered pursuing the adoption in another state but ultimately chose to keep fighting in Alabama. Their attorney, Christine Hernandez, said she planned to refile the adoption petition as soon as Granade’s order takes effect, at which point a probate judge would set a hearing, typically a brief, closed-door proceeding lasting about 15 minutes.
Community reaction in Mobile was mixed with a note of impatience. The Rev. Sandy O’Steen, pastor of Cornerstone Metro Community Church in Mobile, said he had hoped for an immediate, uncontested resolution. “I was hoping we’d be rejoicing today,” he said. “We celebrated yesterday at church, though.”
Local advocates have also stepped in to help the couple offset legal costs tied to years of litigation, which by that point had run into tens of thousands of dollars, according to organizers with an LGBT support group active in the Mobile area.