Alabama's Anti-LGBT Chief Justice Has Just Been Suspended

A same-sex marriage supporter holds a sign referring to Alabama's Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, during a protest outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama February 9, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Chief Justice Roy Moore has previously accused "atheists, homosexuals and transgender individuals" of logging politically motivated complaints against him.

Alabama's Supreme Court Chief Justice was suspended 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 marriage equality 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 an administrative order to state probate judges in January, ordering them not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to court documents.

"Chief Justice Moore flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority," a 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 had previously accused "atheists, homosexuals and transgender individuals" of logging politically motivated complaints against him, most recently over his anti-marriage equality order.

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.

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.

The development comes at a time when many states in the south of the U.S. are enacting discriminatory laws, singling out the LGBT community.

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