A week ago Federal District Judge Callie Granade struck down two Alabama state laws banning same-sex marriage and refused to stay the decision pending an appeal the the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court itself refused to institute a stay, so you’d think the matter would be settled, but we’re talking about Alabama here. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has ordered state officials to ignore the Federal court ruling.
Why would he do that? Because Alabama Chief Justice is an elected office, and Roy Moore is a politician. He was elected Chief Justice once before and installed a 5,280-pound Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama State Judicial Building because Mr. Moore believes in Freedom of Religion, but only for his own religion. He was removed from office by the state’s judicial ethics panel for defying a Federal court order to remove the monument and, in conservative Alabama, that got him re-elected. So why is he standing in the courthouse door to prevent same-sex marriage? Politics. He ran for Governor in 2010, lost in the GOP Primary, and obviously wants to run again. You know, for Jesus. Of course.
Ed Kilgore explains the results of Judge Moore’s tantrum:
“What’s up with these probate judges? Are their law school professors hanging their heads in shame at this rather blatant defiance of the Supremacy Clause?
Well, that’s hard to say because Alabama does not require probate judges to have any sort of legal education ….”
— “About Those Judges Joining Roy Moore in His Rebel Yell,” Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly
More:
“Supreme Court Undercuts Alabama Chief Justice’s Argument to Delay Same-Sex Marriages,” Erik Eckholm, New York Times
“Close Encounters With Roy Moore,” Sarah Posner, Religion Dispatches
“Roy Moore the Poet,” Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly
“George Wallace’s ghost haunts Alabama gay marriage fight,” Paul Waldman, Washington Post
Related:
“John Oliver digs into the “horrifying spectacle” of judicial elections,” Sarah Gray, Salon
“Soliciting Campaign Cash Threatens the Integrity of the Courts,” Alicia Bannon, Moyers & Company
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Tags: Alabama, gay marriage, GOP, grandstanding, marriage equality, politics, Republicans, Roy Moore, same-sex marriage
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