Alabama repeals century-old ban on interracial marriages

MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP) -- Alabama voters on Tuesday repealed the state's century-old ban against interracial marriage, an unenforceable but embarrassing throwback to the state's segregationist past.

The vote was running 59 percent to 41 percent, with 58 percent of the voted counted.

The vote removed the dubious distinction of Alabama being the only state in the country with such a relic from the segregated South remaining in its constitution.

Alabama became the last state with such language in its organic law in 1998 when South Carolina voters approved a measure to remove similar wording from their state's constitution. In South Carolina, about 62 percent of voters favored lifting the ban.

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Major Cox of Bullock County said he was impressed that Alabama voters officially made his 20-year marriage to Margaret Meier legal. Cox is black and his wife is white.

"I think we are well on the way to removing some of the stigma placed on Alabama. I think we may get to the point where we don't have to classify ourselves. I don't wake up in the morning thinking 'oh my God I'm married to a white person'," Cox said.

Meier said she had been worried Alabama voters might decide in the privacy of the polling booth to keep the ban.

"This is wonderful. I think it says a lot about the people of this state and the future of this state," Meier said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that such bans are unenforceable, but some Alabamians felt the language in the 1901 Constitution needed to be removed to demonstrate the state's stand now. Gov. Don Siegelman had said failure to remove the ban would hurt the state's efforts to recruit business.

There are at least 1,600 mixed-race couples in Alabama.

The two most vocal supporters for Amendment Two came from opposite sides of the political spectrum -- Democratic state Rep. Alvin Holmes, who is black, and Republican Attorney General Bill Pryor, who is white.

Holmes pushed the bill setting up Tuesday's vote through the Legislature.

Pryor said Tuesday night that he was "ecstatic" that Alabama voters decided to remove the interracial marriage ban.

"This sends a powerful message about our state. The people decided in the eyes of Constitution we are not black or brown or white. We are all Americans. We don't look at each other based on skin color," Pryor said.

Auburn University historian Wayne Flynt said he is optimistic that the interracial marriage vote shows Alabama may be ready to escape from its racist past.

"I'm delighted. With only 26 percent of the state black, this reflects a lot of white folks want to turn the page. I think this indicates race is receding as an issue in Alabama politics and that's good news," Flynt said.

In many rural, mostly white counties, the amendment either passed narrowly or was defeated. But in urban centers, such as Jefferson County, it passed overwhelmingly.

The only public opposition to lifting the ban came from a coalition of chapters of the Southern Party in Alabama. A leader of the Confederate heritage group, Michael Chappell of Montgomery, filed a lawsuit that unsuccessfully sought to remove Amendment Two from the ballot.

Chappell said the amendment was vaguely worded and was not needed since interracial couples can now marry in Alabama. At the same time, he added, "Interracial marriage is bad for our Southern culture."