Day: April 28, 2017

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

 MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Suspended Alabama Chief 
Justice Roy Moore, also known as the “Ten Commandments judge,” announced
 on Wednesday that he is resigning from the state Supreme Court to run 
for the United States Senate.

“I share the vision of President Donald Trump to make
America great again,” Moore explained during a press conference
surrounded by supporters, but added, “Before we can make America great
again, we’ve got to make America good again.”

“Our first president in his farewell address said very
simply, ‘The virtue of morality is a necessary spring of popular
government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with
indifference on attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?’” he
noted.

Moore outlined that the foundations of the nation are being
shaken on a variety of levels, including in matters of protecting the
unborn, the institution of marriage and religious liberty. He said that
there also needs to be a return to the original intent of the U.S.
Constitution.

“Socialized medicine, Common Core education—they’re not in
the power of the federal government,” Moore said. “As United States
Senator, I will continue to stand for the rights and liberties not only
of this state, but of its people as well. I will defend those rights and
liberties under the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.”

His announcement was met with applause and “amen.”

Moore again drew applause when he proclaimed the need to
stand for God as he was asked by a reporter about his suspension from
the Alabama Supreme Court.

“What I did, I did for the people of Alabama. I stood up for
the Constitution. I stood up for God. The great majority of people in
this state believe in God. The Constitution itself is based on an
acknowledgment of God,” he declared. “Unless you understand what God has
to do with the Constitution, you don’t understand the Constitution.”

As previously reported,
in March 2015, six of the nine judges of the Alabama Supreme Court
released a historic order halting the issuance of same-sex “marriage”
licenses in the state. Moore recused himself from the matter and was not
included in the order.

“As it has done for approximately two centuries, Alabama law
allows for ‘marriage’ between only one man and one woman,” the 148-page
order read. “Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to
issue any marriage license contrary to this law. Nothing in the United
States Constitution alters or overrides this duty.”

Three months after the Alabama Supreme Court issued its
order, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges, opining
that states must recognize same-sex nuptials. The Alabama court did not
immediately lift its order following the ruling as it took time sorting
through the matter.

Therefore, in January 2016, Moore released a memo advising
that the full court’s previous instructions remained in effect until it
issued directives in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in
Obergefell.

But he also noted that his memo did not weigh in on how
June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling has impact on the Alabama Supreme
Court’s directive, and said that it was not his place to make that
determination.

“I am not at liberty to provide any guidance to
Alabama probate judges on the effect of Obergefell on the
existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court. That issue remains
before the entire court, which continues to deliberate on the matter,”
Moore wrote.

In May, after receiving a complaint about Moore from the
Southern Poverty Law Center and other entities, the Alabama Judicial
Inquiry Commission (JIC) announced that it had filed ethics charges
against the chief justice and suspended Moore while he faced a trial
before the Court of the Judiciary (COJ).

Moore argued during his Sept. 2016 trial that he had not
issued any orders, but only a status update as the Alabama Supreme Court
had not rescinded its previous order following Obergefell. However, the
COJ did not believe Moore and found him guilty on all ethics charges.

Last week, a special, randomly-selected Supreme Court panel affirmed the COJ’s conclusion.

Moore had likewise been removed from his chief justice seat
in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the
court rotunda, but was re-elected by the people in 2012.

Fellow Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker, who
supports Moore and believes the chief justice’s punishment was unjust,
announced on Wednesday that he will now run for Moore’s seat on the
bench.

“Alabama is a conservative state. We revere the Constitution
and the rule of law. And I believe our courts are the battleground for
our God-given rights as free people,” Parker said. “Please pray with me
as I take this step, and thank you for standing with me as I continue to
stand for the God-given principles that remain the foundation of the
freedoms we cherish as Alabamians.”