In light of recent court rulings on gay marriage, nine counties in Alabama are now refusing to issue any kind of marriage license. So how does this get reported in the media?

The AP’s headline:

Segregation-Era Law Returns

Here’s the thing. Counties in Alabama have the right to refuse to provide marriage licenses because the amendment that makes this refusal possible was passed in 1961 in response to laws about desegregation. But instead of just reporting the news that nine counties are refusing to give marriage licenses, they lede with the segregation link.

It’s bad enough that the media has chosen sides on the marriage issue and demonizes anyone who stands for religious freedom but to link them with racism on top of that is just irresponsible, mean spirited, and just plain ol’ journalistic malpractice. So pretty much just another random day in the world of mainstream media.