Alabama Appeals Court strikes down state homosexuality ban

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama appeals court has ruled that a law criminalizing consensual homosexual conduct is unconstitutional. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Alabama's sexual misconduct law in a unanimous decision. The judges said it was the first time the constitutionality of the law had been addressed since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a similar Texas law in 2003. The chairman of Equality Alabama, Ben Cooper, calls it a step in the right direction. The executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, Susan Watson, says it's about time Alabama recognizes the decade-old Supreme Court ruling. The ruling by the appeals court came in a case from Dallas County.