Same-sex marriage haltingly begins in Alabama

Same-sex marriage got off to an uneven start in Alabama, as dozens of counties refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Alabama's request to stay a ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, thereby rebuffing the state's chief justice, Roy Moore, who hours earlier ordered probate judges to not issue marriage licenses to gay couples. But despite the Justices' ruling, at least 50 of the state's 67 counties declined to issue marriage licenses to gay couples on day one, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The Supreme Court is set to rule on the issue this summer, and could strike down all bans on same-sex marriage nationwide.

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