In Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268 (1979), a former husband objected to paying his ex-wife alimony and challenged Alabama statutes that required husbands, but not wives, to pay alimony upon divorce. The United States Supreme Court rejected the argument "that the only 'proper plaintiff' would be a husband who requested alimony for himself, and not one who merely objected to paying alimony." Id. at 272-73. The Court concluded the former husband bore a burden he would not bear if he were a female, because the state law imposed an alimony obligation on him and his alimony obligation was sufficient to establish standing. Id. at 273.