(Montgomery, Alabama) Two gay inmates at Fountain prison are suing the state of Alabama for the right to marry.
Daruis Chambers and Jonathan Jones are acting as their own attorneys. In legal papers filed with the court Monday they argue that the state law banning same-sex marriages violates their constitutional rights of due process and free speech.
"This court must not allow the alleged sexual morals of a society filled with bias to be the scales of balance," they wrote in their five-page suit.
It is believed to be the first time that two same-sex inmates have launched legal proceedings to marry.
Chambers, 34, is serving a 10-year sentence for theft and a 15-year sentence for possession of a forged instrument. Jones, 27, is serving 20-year sentences for robbery and kidnapping.
Both men are eligible to be considered for parole or early release in 2005 but until then, they are separated in the prison and authorities will not allow them conjugal visits, even though heterosexual prisoners are allowed such visits by non incarcerated partners.
In the state's response to the suit, Attorney General Troy King's staff argues that nothing in the federal constitution requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"The law of our state protects and preserves the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and this law is consistent with the U.S. Constitution and with rulings of courts throughout the nation," King told reporters Monday.
King said prison inmates do retain some constitutional rights, but other rights, including sex between inmates, may be restricted for safety and other legitimate concerns.
King has asked Montgomery Circuit Judge Truman Hobbs Jr. to dismiss the suit. Hobbs has scheduled a hearing Wednesday.
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