Alabama Foreshadow of High Court’s Gay Decision?

The battle over gay marriage is heating up in the state of Alabama.

Monday was supposed to be the first day same-sex couples were legally allowed to marry after a federal court struck down the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage last month.

But on Sunday night, Alabama's chief justice stepped, ordering state judges Sunday night to refuse marriage licenses to homosexual couples, citing the state ban.

"Well I think redefinition of the word marriage is not found within the powers designated to the federal government," Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore said.

Now, more than 50 Alabama state judges have refused to issue licenses to same-sex couples.

Moore said he only has the authority over the state judges who issue marriage licenses, and he questions how federal judges define marriage in the future.

"Do they stop with one man and one man or one woman and one woman? Or do they go to multiple marriages or they go to marriages between men and their daughters or women and their sons?" Moore asked.

Dr. Bradley Jacob, with Regent University School of Law, told CBN News Moore's scenario is a possibility.

"The reality is if you say that the Constitution forces the states to give up the institution of marriage as a husband and a wife, raising children in the complementarity of a man and a woman; if you say the states can't do that anymore -- they must allow two men, two women -- it's very hard to see where you now draw the line," Jacob explained.

**What consequences can judges in Alabama face for refusing to issue same sex marriage licenses? Click play below to watch CBN News' interview with Regent University law professor Dr. Bradley Jacob. He weighs in on the situation in Alabama, and explains how the state of marriage could change if the Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage in June.

The Alabama battle has drawn the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, which says same-sex marriage there can move forward as planned.

However, Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia criticized their colleagues for refusing to delay gay marriage in Alabama. They say it gives the impression that the justices already have decided they will declare it legal under the Constitution.

Dr. Jacob agreed, saying the high court's Alabama ruling could be sending a message.

"One of the most negative factors for those who want to see traditional marriage upheld is the way the Supreme Court has dodged this issue and allowed lower courts to force gay marriage on many states," Jacob told CBN News.

"Every time the Supreme Court ducks the issue and lets gay marriages begin in another state, I think they make it harder and harder to go back and just say, 'No, we're going to wipe all that out, and we're going to stop doing those gay marriages,'" he said.

In the meantime, homosexual marriages continue in about a dozen Alabama counties.

And while it's a time to celebrate for Alabama same-sex couples, for others, like Rev. James Henderson, former executive director of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, it's a season of sadness.

"I'm grieved because I know it's not God's way," Henderson said. "I'm like the 81 percent of the people in this state who voted for the Constitutional amendment that clearly states that marriage is only between one man and one woman."

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage in June.