WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas criticized his Supreme Court colleagues Monday for refusing to block same-sex marriage in Alabama until the court resolves the issue nationwide in a few months.
Thomas said in a dissenting opinion that the court's Alabama order could be seen as a signal that the justices already have decided they will declare that gay and lesbian couples have a right to marry under the Constitution.
Thomas wrote that the court "looks the other way as yet another federal district judge casts aside state laws" and that "this acquiescence may well be seen as a signal of the court's intended resolution of that question."
"This is not the proper way to discharge our Article III responsibilities. And, it is indecorous for this court to pretend that it is," Thomas added. The Article III reference is to the provision of the Constitution concerning the federal courts.
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