Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the U.S. state of Alabama have federal protections, but still face legal challenges and discrimination on the state level that is not experienced by non-LGBT residents. LGBT rights in Alabama—a Republican Party stronghold located in both the Deep South and greater Bible Belt—are severely limited in comparison to other states. As one of the most socially conservative states in the U.S., Alabama is one of the only two states along with neighboring Mississippi where opposition to same-sex marriage outnumbers support.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Alabama since 2003, when the United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down all state sodomy laws. On May 23, 2019, the Alabama House of Representatives passed, with 101 voting yes and 3 absent, Alabama Senate Bill 320, which repeals the ban on "deviate sexual intercourse". On May 28, 2019, the Alabama State Senate passed Alabama Senate Bill 320, with 32 yea and 3 absent. The bill took effect on September 1, 2019.
The age of consent in Alabama is 16 years old; however, sexual contact is legal with someone under 16 years and within 2 years of the older individual. In 2019, this provision was extended to members of the same sex. It had previously only been allowed for individuals of the opposite sex. A few other US states still keep these types of age-of-consent clauses, exclusively applying them to individuals of opposite sexes.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage legal nationwide. However, not all counties immediately complied, and instead they copied behavior from the civil rights era when they had refused to perform interracial marriages. By 2017, eight counties were still protesting by refusing to issue any marriage licenses at all.
In May 2019, the Alabama Legislature decided counties were required to record marriage certificates. On August 29, 2019, all Alabama counties began recording marriage certificates for all couples (including interracial and same-sex couples).
Previously, Alabama had banned the licensing of same-sex marriages and the recognition of such marriages from other jurisdictions by executive order in 1996, by statute in 1998, and by constitutional amendment in June 2006. There are still some legal prohibitions on same-sex marriage, but they are unenforceable. They are: Executive Order Number 24 by Governor Fob James, Alabama Code § 30-1-19, and Amendment 774 of the Constitution of the State of Alabama.
Adoption rights and parenting
Alabama permits adoption by same-sex couples.
Sexual orientation has sometimes been used as a reason to deny parents' rights. In 2002, the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that"the homosexual conduct of a parent — conduct involving a sexual relationship between two persons of the same gender — creates a strong presumption of unfitness that alone is sufficient justification for denying that parent custody of his or her own children or prohibiting the adoption of the children of others. ... Homosexual conduct is, and has been, considered abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature and of nature's God upon which this Nation and our laws are predicated. Such conduct violates both the criminal and civil laws of this State and is destructive to a basic building block of society — the family. The law of Alabama is not only clear in its condemning such conduct, but the courts of this State have consistently held that exposing a child to such behavior has a destructive and seriously detrimental effect on the children. It is an inherent evil against which children must be protected."However, the following year, the U.S. Supreme Court said in Lawrence v. Texas that states could not ban same-sex sexual activity.
Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act
Alabama is one of the few states to have a law protecting the right of faith-based adoption agencies to refuse to place a child with a certain couple or individual due to the agency's religious beliefs. The law was signed by Governor Kay Ivey in May 2017.
Discrimination protections
Federal law
Since 2011, gender identity has been applied to the definition of sex in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 within the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Since 2020, sexual orientation has been applied to the definition of sex in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.