-by Kiran Butte- The United States was founded on a unique form of government in which power is spread out, so as not to leave one leader too powerful. We have individual state governments and a large federal government divided into multiple sectors, a unique form of government in which power is managed by a system of checks and balances. This idea has led our country well for nearly 240 years, but there has always been tension between federal and state governments. Which has more power? What rights does the federal government have that the states do not, and vice versa? Although this may seem like a problem a high school student would only encounter in his or her US history course, this conflict can be seen clearly with current debates such as the one over the legalization of gay marriage.

Same-sex marriage has become a major part of US politics and its authorization is highly debated. Because of our government system, individual states can make their own laws about issues like these. For example, here in Massachusetts, gay marriage is legal whereas in Michigan, it is not. This setup allows the country to have various laws and for each state to determine its own rules. However, when state laws conflict with federal regulations, the situation gets a bit more complicated.

On February 9, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered judges in the state not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the federal court’s decision that such bans were unconstitutional in the state. Uniformity in the state began to fall apart; some judges began distributing marriage licenses to gay couples while others refused. Moore intended to retain his ban as long as possible, while constitutional law experts claimed it would get overruled by the federal government.

On February 20, Governor of Alabama Robert Bentley vowed that he would “never do anything to disobey a federal court ruling”. Although he believes gay marriage should not be legal in his state, citing Alabama’s constitution, he recognized the federal government’s decision over the one made by Moore. As of now, 47 of Alabama’s 67 counties are issuing or planning to issue same-sex marriage licenses.