A second gay couple in Mobile has won the right to marry in Alabama.

U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. "Ginny" Granade, who on Friday declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, ruled on Monday in favor of James Strawser and John Humphrey in a separate case. The Alabama Attorney General's Office immediately vowed to appeal.

Humphrey, 38, said he did not have the highest level of confidence when he and Strawser filed the federal lawsuit in September. Alabama is a conservative state, he noted, and the couple did not even have a lawyer.

"I am just ecstatically pleased. We didn't realize it would be so soon and did not even think she would consider it," Humphrey said. "This is the Bible Belt for Christ sake."

As she did in a case involving Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand, Granade delayed the ruling in this case from taking effect until Feb. 9 to give the state a chance to try to persuade the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block it until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a same-sex marriage case later this year.

Strawser, 51, said he and Humphrey plan to go to Mobile County Probate Court on that day to apply for a marriage license.

"We were really planning on going yesterday morning when we go the news" that Granade had put her decision in the Searcy-McKeand case on hold.

Granade cited her ruling in the Searcy-McKeand case in her decision in Strawser's suit. She noted that the facts differ slightly. In the case of the women, Alabama refused to recognize their marriage from California, whike the state refused to issue a marriage license to Strawser and Humprhey. But the judge ruled the issue is the same.

"Although the Plaintiffs in this case seek to marry in Alabama, rather than have their marriage in another state recognized, the court adopts the reasoning expressed in the Searcy case and finds that Alabama's laws violate the Plaintiffs' rights for the same reasons," she wrote.

Strawser and Humphrey said they were living in different cities when they met through Facebook. Eventually, Humphrey moved to Mobile from his home in Gulfport and the two have lived together since April or May of last year.

Strawser, a native of Columbus, Ohio, said he moved to Mobile about 10 years ago to care for his ailing mother. He said they applied for a marriage license and the clerk "had a fit" and told them she could not issue it.

"I just wanted to see how far we could go with it," he said.

Strawser said the marriage is important for practical, as well as emotional reasons. He said he wears a pacemaker and has had several significant surgeries. He said he wants Humphrey to have the right to be informed by doctors about his medical condition and make decisions on his behalf.

"If I go into a coma or something, I don't want to live on machines," he said.

Granade's ruling cites testimony from Strawser that he gave Humphrey a medical power of attorney but that hospital official said they would not honor it because Humphey was not a spouse or family member. He also testified that he was concerned Humphrey would not be permitted to assist Strawser's mother in the event that he died.

Strawser said neither he nor Humphrey were in a financial position to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a lawyer to fight the case. He said he is a retired construction worker, while Humphrey is seeking disability status.

So they proceeded "pro se," in legalese.

Strawser said the case has opened his eyes to hatred of gays in some quarters. He said he kept his orientation hidden for years, denying it even to himself. He had three failed marriages to women and two sons - one who talks to him and one who does not.

"I could not make a marriage work with a lady," he said.

Despite the seemingly long odds when he filed the suit in September, Strawser said he always thought the law was on his side.

"I felt like we had just as much right to marry as anyone else," he said.