Milton Persinger, left, and Robert Povilat, both of Mobile, Ala., get married at Government Plaza as the Rev. Sandy O'Steen from Cornerstone Metropolitan Community Church officiates. They were the first same-sex couple to get married in Mobile, Ala., Thursday Feb. 12, 2015. Photo: Sharon Steinmann, Mobile Press-Register (AP)

Milton Persinger, left, and Robert Povilat, both of Mobile, Ala., get married at Government Plaza as the Rev. Sandy O'Steen from Cornerstone Metropolitan Community Church officiates. They were the first same-sex couple to get married in Mobile, Ala., Thursday Feb. 12, 2015. Photo: Sharon Steinmann, Mobile Press-Register (AP)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — There were at least 545 same-sex couples who married during the three weeks that gay marriage was allowed in Alabama.

The preliminary numbers were compiled by the Alabama Department of Public Health Department. The tally reflects marriages that occurred Feb. 9 to March 3.

The director of the Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Catherine Molchan Donald, said probate courts send marriage license forms to the state after a couple marries.

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Same-sex couples began marrying in Alabama on Feb. 9 after a federal judge overturned the state’s gay marriage ban. The weddings halted on March 3 when the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges to stop issuing the licenses.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments April 28 regarding whether gays and lesbians have a right to marry nationwide.

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