Why do so many in Alabama oppose same-sex marriage?

The Birmingham News / AL.com ^ | 01 12 18 | Christopher Harress

[Bodleian_Girl]

Ambrosia Starling, drag queen who prompted Judge Roy Moore's removal from Alabama Supreme Court.

This story is a part of Ask Alabama, where you ask the questions, you vote to decide which questions we answer, and then we investigate.

This week we're answering a question submitted by a reader who asked:

Alabama has the lowest the percentage of citizens of any state who support same sex marriage. Why are so many Alabamans opposed?

Same-sex marriage, and homosexual behavior, has seemingly always been frowned upon by much of the great state of Alabama. This is, after all, the center of the Bible Belt, and the birth place of the lovable Judge Roy Moore. You know, that guy that lost an election in Alabama to a Democrat, which is a bit like losing a boxing match with the Venus de Milo. It's a statue with no arms. Google it.

But it's absolutely true. Alabama has the lowest support of same-sex marriage in the entire country, tied, of course, with Mississippi, according to a 2015 study by the Public Religious Research Institute. The poll shows that 33 percent of Alabamians oppose same-sex marriage.

But why is that?

"It's because there is more biblical literacy in Alabama than most other places," said Dr. Joe Godfrey, Executive Director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program, a religious lobbying group based in Birmingham. "The Bible clearly teaches us that marriage is between one man and women for life. Everyone teaches that, people grow up believing that. No one is willing to change the Bible around here. Society and culture needs to adjust to fit in with what the Bible teaches, not vice versa."

(Snip)

LGBTQ organizer Mario Burton agrees. "The issue of same-sex marriage is absolutely rooted in religion," said the Huntsville-based activist, who is part of the Rocket City pride group. "But we're still so far behind the rest of the country in that discussion. We still have to get people to understand identity before we even move on to marriage equality. And then there is also still a taboo still about the discussion of sex, even within heterosexual relationships. And that includes discussions about sexuality. Lots of people don't talk about sex, so when we bring up marriage equality, people just think gay sex, or bisex. So it feels like we're having a conversation about sex rather that marriage."

Maybe hold off on Googling the Venus de Milo, folks. You might not be ready.

While Godfrey believes that society and culture should fit around the teachings of the Bible, the U.S Supreme Court believes otherwise.

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state sodomy laws. That set the stage for another SCOTUS decision over 12 years later that made it legal for same-sex marriages to take place across the country. Alabama has yet to repeal its state sodomy law, and fought hard to prevent the issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But don't worry, you can still legally marry your cousin.

In fact, it was Moore in his second stint as Alabama Chief Justice that instructed Alabama probate judges not to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But once again the law won. While this added to Moore's almost cult-like following among conservative evangelicals, it didn't sit well with the state's ethical judiciary committee, which promptly removed him from office. He was removed the first time as Alabama Chief Justice for refusing to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from the state rotunda in Montgomery.

Even today, some two and a half years later, seven counties in Alabama still won't issue any type of marriage license, according to a Ballotpedia study from June 2017. Those counties are Covington, Geneva, Pike, Washington, Clarke, Autauga, and Cleburne.

But even in Alabama, attitudes are changing. Between 1994 and 1996, support for same-sex marriage was at 17 percent, according to a New York Times poll. That increased to 26 percent by 2010, and again to 32 percent by 2015.

So things are changing. But why? Dr. Godfrey helpfully explains.

"The fact is for thousands of years all major civilizations and cultures have believed that marriage is between one man and woman," he said. "And what's happening is we've got radical leftist LGBTQ activists such as the humans rights campaign that are pushing this agenda, pumping millions of dollars into trying to change public opinion. So yeah, when you put millions of dollars into a public campaign to convince people that same -sex marriage is acceptable then you're going to see the polling go up in that field. And that money is coming out of the pockets of big corporations. If it were not for the media, the big corporations pumping big money into this you wouldn't see this change."

So, there you go. Alabama is still sort of prudish and religious.

[longtermmemmory]

they ask like it is a bad thing...

why are there any people in Alabama who support this?

[Impy]

2008 was before the massive propaganda. We’d struggle to beat it in referendums in GOP states today, let alone Cali which would overwhelmingly vote for faggotry.

[Theodore R.]

The Dec. 12 election was a big victory for “gaydom” in AL. Judge Moore lost because he ran a weak campaign but also because of his unwavering Christianity.