Alabama’s Chief Justice, Roy S. Moore, issued an administrative order that effectively bans Alabama’s probate judges from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples – again. Illegal at best, this order directly defies the June 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which found that bans against same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.
At worst, Justice Moore’s pattern of defying SCOTUS is tantamount to impeachment, as he continues to prove he is far from being impartial in his decisions.
Federal vs. State’s Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court found in a 5 to 4 decision that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional in Obergefell vs. Hodges, from June of 2015, according to NPR. SCOTUS ruled that every state must issue and also recognize marriage licenses of same-sex couples. That decision resulted in striking down any state level bans on same-sex marriage licenses that might have been in place at the time of the ruling.
According to Chief Justice Moore, though, that SCOTUS ruling “confused” Alabama’s judges. Some probate judges took the ruling to mean they could issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, while others took it to mean they couldn’t, and a disagreement between the two sides was causing a problem, according to Reuters.
As a result, Moore issued an order that stops marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples until Alabama could hear and rule on the matter further – effectively banning same-sex marriage again. Apparently, Justice Moore doesn’t think the Supreme Court has any business “meddling” in state issues. Except he initially conceded in February of 2015 that SCOTUS has the ultimate authority on the matter.
One probate judge, Steven Reed from Montgomery, Alabama, said Justice Moore’s order is a “charade” that’s just “sad and pathetic,” and he refused to heed the order. A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center said the order would force probate judges to act in “contempt of court,” according to Reuters.
Same-Sex Marriage Or Equality At Stake?
Same-sex marriage is not an issue of marriage, per se, but one of equality. Since equality is a constitutional matter, Justice Moore – Alabama as a whole – has no standing to issue a contradictory ruling.
Even Justice Thomas Kennedy, a typically conservative judge who sometimes sides with the liberal Justices, agrees with this being an issue of equality when he wrote in his majority opinion that,
“They [same-sex couples] ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law … The Constitution grants them that right.”
Justice Moore’s open defiance of the Supreme Court and direct violation of the U.S. Constitution should come as no surprise to anyone, especially Alabamians.
As a Gadsden, Alabama, circuit court judge in 1997, Justice Moore prayed in the court room, even after the higher court found his actions and sanctimonious religious babble unconstitutional. Then, he went so far as to hang a plaque of the Ten Commandments in the same courtroom, according to NPR.
The Supreme Court ordered him to stop, and to remove the plaque. Justice Moore refused, and he was ultimately removed from the bench. Alabamians forgot, though, and reelected him to the same bench again in 2012.
Chief Justice Moore is sorely mistaken if he thinks Alabamians are going to let him get away with turning his court into a religious circus – again, or circumvent the constitution – again, as Alabamians aren’t likely to forget this time.
Nevertheless, any lower court challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court would not only be moot, but also an exercise in futility – and any contradictory ruling a waste of time and money.
The good news is this is a case of an illegal ban vs. a constitutional right, which means the LGBT community will eventually win – no matter how long it takes.
Featured Image by Elvert Barnes via Flickr/CC by SA-2.0
