Summary: The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has spoken out against gay marriage and has asked the governor to fight a recent ruling striking down the state’s ban.
The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court advised judges in the state to ignore the federal ruling that struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage, according to Reuters.
In a letter sent to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, Chief Justice Roy Moore said that the ruling violates the state’s constitution.
The ruling had been put on hold for two weeks and it could be superseded by a ruling issued by the United States Supreme Court in June.
In the letter, Moore wrote, “I am dismayed by those judges in our state who have stated they will recognize and unilaterally enforce a federal court decision which does not bind them. I would advise them that the issuance of such licenses would be in defiance of the laws and constitution of Alabama.”
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A constitutional law expert from the University of Alabama School of Law, Ronald Krotoszynski, said that the letter from Moore will carry very little weight. The reason for this is that federal constitutional law overrides that of the individual state constitutions.
“There is no credible legal argument that an order from a federal judge with jurisdiction over a matter isn’t binding on a state government,” he said.
Moore was removed from office in 2003 after he delayed a federal order to take down a Ten Commandments monument he installed in the Alabama judicial building. He was sent back to the bench in 2012 by voters.
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The ruling that struck down the gay marriage ban in Alabama was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.
Granade issued another ruling on Tuesday that allows an Alabama same-sex couple the right to get married.
The state passed its gay marriage ban in 2006.
Alabama State Representative Patricia Todd, the sole gay lawmaker in the state and a Democrat, threatened to expose the extramarital affairs of her colleagues if they keep mentioning “family values” when speaking against the judge’s ruling.
Governor Bentley has said that he is in support of the state’s gay marriage ban and will fight to uphold it.
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The director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Alabama office, Ashley Jackson, said, “There’s something deeply ironic about a judge seeking the right to ignore another judge’s ruling while crying ‘judicial activism.'”
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Source: Reuters