Alabama voters
approve constitutional marriage ban

Alabama voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment on Tuesday that bans same-sex marriage, The Press-Register of Mobile reports. Returns showed the marriage amendment passing by wide margins in both rural and urban areas.

Since 1998, Alabama law has prohibited same-sex marriage and refused to recognize such unions from other jurisdictions. The passage of the amendment puts those provisions in the state's constitution.

Joseph Rembert Jr. told the Press-Register he didn't go to the polls solely because of the amendment, but he was glad it was on the ballot. "I'm all man, so I ain't got nothing to do with that," said Rembert, 32, of Montgomery. "I go by what the Bible says--man and woman."

But Gwen Carmack of Mobile said it's not the business of government to decide who can get married and who can't. "I just prefer the state not do that. It's an individual choice," said Carmack, 56, a project manager in health care software. (The Advocate)