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The Media vs. Roy Moore


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Alabama top justice tells judges not to issue gay marriage licenses

Published January 06, 2016
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Feb. 9, 2015: Supporters of same-sex marriage hold signs outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama. (Reuters)

Alabama’s top justice said Wednesday that state probate judges should not issue same-sex marriage licenses, despite the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage last year.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore cited conflicting rulings and said until they are resolved, a prior directive from March telling judges to comply with the state’s gay marriage ban would remain in effect.

He wrote: “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.”

Moore issued a similar order last year. It’s unclear what impact the decision will have in the state, where some officials are issuing the licenses and others are not.

Susan Watson, director of the ACLU of Alabama, called Moore's order "silly" and said it wouldn't change the fact that most Alabama judges are issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Moore said in Wednesday’s decision that even though the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated anti-gay marriage laws – he cited laws in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee -- “confusion and uncertainty exist among the probate judges of this State as to the effect” on existing orders in Alabama.

He continued, “Many probate judges are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in accordance with Obergefell (the Supreme Court case); others are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the opposite gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses.”

Moore said the broader issue remains before the Alabama Supreme Court, “which continues to deliberate on the matter.”

 

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I wonder how long after that, that Alabama tells the Fed's to go to hell.......

Probably not even a 3 count. I wanted Bush to nominate Moore to SCOTUS when Rehnquist died. He wouldn't have stood a snowball's chance of getting confirmed (if I recall, democrats in the minority didn't feel the need to cooperate with republicans), but it would have been worth it to see Ted Kennedy's head explode.
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Probably not even a 3 count. I wanted Bush to nominate Moore to SCOTUS when Rehnquist died. He wouldn't have stood a snowball's chance of getting confirmed (if I recall, democrats in the minority didn't feel the need to cooperate with republicans), but it would have been worth it to see Ted Kennedy's head explode.

Moore would have been a great SCOTUS but seems nobody from the south can get on that court.

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  • 3 months later...

(Reuters) - Alabama's Supreme Court Chief Justice was suspended on Friday as he faces possible removal from the bench for ordering state probate judges not to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, despite contrary rulings by a federal court and the U.S. Supreme Court.


The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission charged Chief Justice Roy Moore, an outspoken opponent of same-sex unions, with violating the state's judicial ethics laws, an allegation that could potentially remove him from office, according to news website AL.com.


The legality of gay marriage had been at the center of a national debate for years until the Supreme Court ruled in June that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement.


Despite the ruling and a federal court ruling that made gay marriage legal in Alabama, Moore issued in January an administrative order to state probate judges, ordering them not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to court documents.


"Chief Justice Moore flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority," the complaint said. "Moore knowingly ordered (probate judges) to commit violations... knowingly subjecting them to potential prosecution and removal from office."


Moore said in a statement that the commission has no authority over administrative orders or the court's ability to prohibit probate judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.


"We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail," he said.


Moore wrote in his order that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was at odds with a decision in March 2015 by the Alabama Supreme Court that instructed probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


The conflicting opinions had resulted in "confusion and uncertainty," Moore said, with many probate judges issuing marriage licenses to gay couples while others refused to do so.


Until the Alabama Supreme Court decides the matter, probate judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license," he said.


The complaint said Moore's order "was contrary to clear and determined law about which there is no confusion or unsettled question."


Moore, a Republican, has been a hero of conservative causes before. In 2003, he was removed from office after a federal judge ruled he was placing himself above the law by refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument.


He won the chief justice job back in 2012, vowing not to do anything to create further friction with the federal courts.


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  • 7 months later...

Alabama Guv Interviews Roy Moore As Potential Replacement For Sen. Sessions
Talking Points Memo ^ | December 21, 2016 | Matt Shuham

The Alabama governor's office confirmed Wednesday that he had interviewed suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore to potentially replace Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Sessions, Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, would leave an vacancy in the U.S. Senate if he is confirmed next year. Local news station WVTM confirmed with the Gov. Robert Bentley's ® office that Moore was under consideration to fill Session's seat.

Moore was formally suspended for the remainder of his term as chief justice in September, on the grounds that he ordered lower court justices not to give same-sex couples marriage licenses. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in June of 2015 that same-sex couples have marriage rights in all 50 states.

In December, Moore's attorneys appealed that suspension, arguing that it amounted to a “de facto removal” from the bench, which requires a unanimous vote from the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, and that Moore had not actually ordered lower court judges to defy federal orders.

Local news station WSFA has reported that there are other candidates under consideration to replace Sessions, including Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL); State Sens. Del Marsh, Arthur Orr, and Cam Ward; State Rep. Connie Rowe; former State Rep. Perry Hooper Jr.; and state Supreme Court Justice Glen Murdock.

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  • 6 months later...

10 Commandments defender Moore to replace Sessions?

Friday, July 7, 2017
|
Michael F. Haverluck (OneNewsNow.com)

ap231680038978__1__350x219.jpgAfter being removed twice for refusing to abide by federal court rulings in defense of the posting of the Ten Commandments in public areas, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is now the leading candidate – as seen in internal polling – to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ vacated United States Senate seat.

According to Politico Pro’s Daniel Strauss,fellow candidate – and current member of Congress – Mo Brooks’ internal polling indicates that Moore is leading all competitors with 31 percent, with Sen. Luther Strange in second at 23 percent and Brooks trailing closely behind in third with 21percent, with nearly a dozen other candidates registering less than 5 percent of the vote.

The second-place candidate, however, has run into some controversy, helping out Moore’s candidacy.

“Then-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Strange to the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. attorney general by President Donald Trump,” Newsmax reported. “But when Bentley was forced to step down earlier this year amid scandal, his replacement, Gov. Kay Ivey, scheduled a special election for August. Bentley was criticized by fellow Republicans for naming Strange, whose state attorney general's office was investigating Bentley on corruption charges.”

Good controversy?

And even though Moore is a modern-day hero with most Evangelicals and many conservatives for his stand for the Ten Commandments, he has some negative publicity of his own to deal with – especially from those who argue that America’s Christian roots should be forgotten under the so-called “Separation of Church and State” … even though it was designed to keep the government from meddling in Church affairs, not the other way around.

“Moore himself is not without controversy, but has a loyal following in the deep red state,” Newsmax’s Greg Richter pointed out. “He first rose to national prominence when – as a county circuit judge – he refused to remove a wooden plaque of the Ten Commandments and to cease prayers before his court sessions.”

Even though Moore had a race to run, his biblical convictions never took a back seat to moving forward in his career.

“But after a successful race for state chief justice in 2000, Moore kept a vow to install the Commandments at the State Supreme Court,” Richter noted. “He had a sculptor produce a 5,000-pound granite monument and had it placed in the Supreme Court building's rotunda. His refusal to remove it got him removed from office in 2003, but he won again in 2012.”

The Christian judge’s biblical convictions eventually cost him his post … again.

“Moore was suspended in 2016 for refusing to follow the Supreme Court's ruling allowing same-sex marriage,” Richter recounted. “Moore maintained he had the authority to order the state's 67 county probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Moore eventually resigned.”

Unfazed by adversity

Despite the controversy, Moore’s reputation is still untarnished to many who believe he did the right thing – by the law and by God.

“[Moore] could be an unusually strong obstacle for Strange [in the current race] in an age of unsettled Republican primaries," Politico Pro’s Strauss stressed. "Moore is hoping his years of high-profile religious fights on the Alabama Supreme Court will fuel his run more than a high-budget campaign would have."

Some are concerned that both of Moore’s major competitors are significantly outspending him, but the Bible-minded judge has come out victorious in every one of his past races – despite the fact that he has spent far less money on each of them.

Resembling the age-old adage that “money can’t buy you happiness,” it is noted that in the world of politics that money cannot buy you victory either.

“Sometimes, the most money – or pull – does not guarantee a candidate a polling lead,” altoday.com’s Phil Ammann stressed. “While incumbent Sen. Luther Strange has financial and institutional support, and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks gathering congressional backing, it is former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore leading in the GOP primary for Strange’s Senate seat.”

Unless there are drastic changes in near future, Moore is expected by many to comfortably ride his lead to victory in Alabama.

 

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  • 4 months later...

What I don't understand is why many didn't make the accusations when it happened.  It seems like ever since Weinstein was outed there have been more reports.  Usually when there's more than one it probably happened.  From the report I read it was consensual.  I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is in Alabama, but he might be criminally charged for the 14 year old, because the legal age there is 16.  It could have been different in 1979, but again I don't know all of their laws.  

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  • Mr. P changed the title to The Media vs. Roy Moore

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