High Court Won't Stop Gay Marriages in Alabama

Alabama probate judges have begun issuing marriage licenses to gay couples Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused the state attorney general's request to extend a stay in a 7-2 vote.

The move comes despite an order by state Chief Justice Roy Moore Sunday night that judges not grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Meanwhile, dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia voiced their objections to the high court's ruling.

"Today's decision represents yet another example of this Court's increasingly cavalier attitude toward the States," Thomas wrote.

"This acquiescence may well be seen as a signal of the Court's intended resolution of  [the gay-marriage]   question," he continued. "This is not the proper way to discharge our  [constitutional]   responsibilities. And, it is indecorous for this Court to pretend that it is."