MONTGOMERY, Ala. — During a radio interview last week with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore called on U.S. Supreme Court justices who have performed same-sex marriages and not recused themselves from the impending gay marriage decision to be impeached.
Federal judge Callie “Ginny” Granade, who made the original ruling calling into question Alabama’s constitutional ban on gay marriage, reiterated last week that her ruling applies to all probate judges, not just the ones named in the case brought before her court.
Judge Granade put a hold (stay) on her ruling pending a final ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to come in the next few weeks.
Moore said Granade immediately made the stay because, “she knows she doesn’t have the authority.”
But Moore went further, questioning if some U.S. Supreme Court should even be involved in the highly controversial ruling.
Justice Moore’s Foundation for Moral Law, a 501c4 organization run by his wife Kayla which is headquartered in Montgomery, filed a motion for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recuse herself from the decision, citing her outspoken support, and having even presided over same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Both Justices Ginsburg and Elena Kagan have reportedly performed same-sex marriage ceremonies. The New York Times reported last week that Ginsburg pronounced two men married “by the powers vested in [her] by the Constitution of the United States.”
“Now she’s commenting on a case which is before her and under the judicial ethics of federal judges she can’t do that,” Moore said. “If Congress is going to let these justices disobey the Constitution they’re sworn to uphold… Congress has a check and a balance, and that’s impeachment.”
“This is undermining the rule of law in our country and ushers in an age of chaos,” FRC President Tony Perkins added.
Chief Justice Moore’s comments on the impending case have raised eyebrows since judge Granade’s initial ruling in January, even drawing the ire of the ultra-liberal Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), whose headquarters also reside in Alabama’s capital city.
Earlier this year the SPLC filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama Wednesday following Chief Justice Moore’s comments and letter to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley regarding the decision.
“We write to lodge a complaint against Chief Justice Roy S. Moore relating to the January 27, 2015, letter he sent to Governor Robert Bentley and his related public statements,” the SPLC wrote in the filed complaint.
The Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama is the same body that removed Chief Justice Moore from office in 2003 following his refusal to remove a 10 commandments monument from the Alabama Supreme Court building—a lawsuit initiated by the SPLC.
(H/T AL.com)
Like this article? Hate it? Follow me and let me know how you feel on Twitter!
— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.