Anti-gay Alabama justice now claims he never tried to block gay weddings… despite literal proof
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A suspended Alabama justice who abused his authority to block gay weddings now claims he never tried to do so… despite indisputable proof that he did.
After the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of equal marriage last summer, Alabama’s Chief Justice Roy Moore tried to actively disregard the rulings – issuing a number of judicial orders to officials in a brazen attempt to re-ban gay weddings.
He declared the Supreme Court rulings “doesn’t apply” in Alabama due to state anti-gay laws, but soon learned the hard way you can’t just ignore the highest courts in America.
Moore was indefinitely suspended earlier this year after the Judicial Inquiry Commission launched action against him for his string of illegal orders – and he faces being struck off for “flagrantly disregarding and abusing his authority” in his crusade against gay weddings.
But Moore – who is represented by the same lawyers as notorious Kentucky clerk Kim Davis – is now bizarrely trying to claim that he never blocked gay weddings to begin with.
His counsel Mat Staver of the anti-LGBT Liberty Counsel claimed: “The JIC has tried to write a story that does not exist. The focus of the JIC charge is Chief Justice Moore’s January 2016 Administrative Order.
“In the 3½ page order, Chief Justice Moore plainly states, ‘I am not at liberty to provide any guidance to Alabama probate judges on the effect of Obergefell on the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court. That issue remains before the entire Court which continues to deliberate on the matter’.
“Moore never ordered the probate judges to disregard the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage opinion, but that is the slanderous narrative of the JIC. The JIC has no case and never should have filed the baseless charge.”
“The Administrative Order of Chief Justice Moore expressly said he could not provide guidance to the probate judges because the matter was pending before the Alabama Supreme Court.
“We have asked that these baseless charges be dismissed.”
The surreal claim comes despite literal records of the order from Moore, which does directly order officials to obey a state ban on gay weddings.
Staver cherry-picked part of the preamble to the January 2016 order, but it later very clearly orders probate judges to uphold Alabama’s definition of marriage as “the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony”.
In fact, Moore writes: “IT IS ORDERED AND DIRECTED THAT: Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect.”
That last sentence doesn’t make a ton of grammatical sense, but it’s definitely what he wrote.
Look, here’s the official record, with the order right next to Roy Moore’s signature:
Is that clear enough for you? You can read the order for yourself right here.
Moore has never until now tried to deny the anti-gay sentiment at the root of his actions.
Last year he said: “They’re toying with something that’s like dynamite, that will destroy our country. I think eventually, over a period of time, it will.”
“It definitely will, because the gender, the homosexual movement, is to force acceptance of this on everybody.”
