The Chilton County Probate Office will no longer perform marriage ceremonies.

“I guess all good things must come to an end,” Chilton County Probate Judge Bobby Martin said on Tuesday.

Martin’s office made the decision to stop performing marriage ceremonies for couples requesting the service after a federal appeals court in Atlanta denied a motion from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange requesting an extended stay regarding a ruling on same-sex marriages.

Unless U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. “Ginny” Granade lifts her stay sooner or the Supreme Court of the United States issues a stay, same-sex marriages could proceed in Alabama Feb. 9.

Although Martin will legally be required to issue marriage licenses to anyone requesting them, including gay and lesbian couples, Martin said he would not be required to perform the ceremonies anymore.

“I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and because of that, I will not perform a ceremony for a couple that doesn’t fit in that criteria,” Martin said.

Martin referenced a section of the Code of Alabama stating that marriages “may be solemnized by any licensed minister of the gospel in regular communion with the Christian church or society of which the minister is a member; by an active or retired judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Court of Civil Appeals, any circuit court, or any district court within the state; by a judge of any federal court; or by an active or retired judge of probate.”

“I am not required to perform marriage ceremonies because of the term in the code that says, ‘may be,’” Martin said.

On Tuesday, Martin said his office had contacted the Alabama Department of Public Health with questions of how his office should proceed on Feb. 9 if same-sex couples request a marriage license.

“As of today, there are no forms that deal with same-sex couples,” Martin said. “The forms ask for couples to list who is the ‘bride’ and who is the ‘groom.’ There are no forms asking for couples to identify who is the ‘groom’ and ‘groom’ or ‘bride’ and ‘bride.’ I’m not sure how we are going to deal with that, but we will have to get some new forms issued. This whole thing has caused disbelief and confusion.”

Strange filed a motion asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the Jan. 23, U.S. District Court ruling striking down Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban. The move follows the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision on Tuesday to not grant a stay of the U.S. District Court’s ruling.

“I am disappointed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court’s decision not to stay the federal district court’s ruling, Strange said in a release. “The confusion that has been created by the District Court’s ruling” could linger for months until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves this issue once and for all.”

Strange went on to say, “My office vigorously defended the constitutionality of Alabama’s marriage laws in the Searcy and Strawser cases, and we have appealed the court’s orders in those cases. Tuesday, we filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the federal court’s decision until the Supreme Court finally rules on the issue in June.”

Martin said the decision to not perform marriage ceremonies at his office was a hard one to make.

“I have really enjoyed doing that throughout the years,” Martin said. “I have married hundreds of men and women and I always give them a Gideon Bible to take with them.”

There was one marriage ceremony performed Tuesday for a heterosexual couple, which would be the last for Martin.

In January, Martin’s office performed 16 ceremonies, and would have had more in February due to Valentine’s Day.

“It is common for a lot of couples to come to the courthouse and get married on Valentine’s Day,” Martin said. “I just hate that it has come down to this. I am disappointed things have turned out this way.”