Ten Commandments Hero Chief Justice Roy Moore came from Alabama…t’other day, visiting the Lone Star State Monday to address a very important “Defense of Texas Marriage Amendment Rally,” where he said that he is willing to lay down his very life to stop people with the wrong combinations of genitals from entering into marriage contracts…. In what had to be the best laugh line of the day, Moore said that he felt compelled to speak at the rally, even though “normally judges don’t speak in public about issues like this.” This from a man who seems congenitally incapable of keeping a single thought about The Gay within the confines of his own head. You see, Moore explained, he was driven by not merely patriotism, but by the highest allegiance possible: His holy oath to God!
When you believe Teh Gayz and their evil Homosexual Agenda to be one of the gravest threats facing this great land…well, you must be one great patriot, eh? At least in your own mind. If your political ambitions include being something bigger than just the Grand Mullah/Chief Justice of Alabama, standing up against such evil can only burnish your standing among the sheeple who hate the same things and people you do.
That Judge Roy Moore considers it treasonous to keep his virulent opposition to marriage equality to himself seems a great way to justify some seriously epic arrogance and self-importance. I’m not sure which Gospel Judge Moore is getting his homophobia from, but he certainly has a flair for the dramatic, comparing himself to fellow Alabmaniac William Travis, who died at the Alamo and became a Texas legend.
“He took a stand in the face of an enemy that was far more numerous, but he knew that he had to make a statement for the people of Texas and that he would give his life. I hope I don’t give my life, but I’m going to tell you this is a very serious matter.”
The fact that Judge Moore has deluded himself into believing he’s worthy of carrying Travis’ jock (metaphorically speaking) is really rather humorous…and more than a little bit presumptuous. But why take away from his enjoyment of having the spotlight focused squarely where he thinks it belongs: on himself?
“There’s today another threat, not only in Texas and Alabama, but across our country where state and federal court judges have overruled constitutional amendments passed by the people of those states, and people have just sat by and watched it out of fear of the federal government,” Moore said. “But nothing in the Constitution of the United States, nothing in the laws or precedents of the federal courts give federal courts any authority over domestic policy of family and marriage in the state of Texas, in the state of Alabama, or anywhere else.”
Well, ALMOST nothing…except for the 14th Amendment, the Full Faith and Credit Clause, Loving v. Virginia, Romer v. Evans, Lawrence v. Texas, Hollingsworth v. Perry, and perhaps even United States v. Windsor. There might be more, but I think that’s a pretty good list of “nothing,” don’tchathink?
Oh, and among that “nothing” one could also include the several rulings by federal and state judges indicating that states have no legal or moral basis for denying marriage equality. If there’s one thing Judge Moore excels at, it’s ignoring truth and legal precedent that doesn’t support his argument.
For verily, the truth is fungible….
I never cease to be amazed at how so many Conservatives are so worked up about what’s happening in the bedrooms of consenting adults. All these “small government” True Believers demand that the federal government get off the backs of Americans…except when it can be used to enforce their moral agenda, which means ensuring that Teh Gayz remain legally defined as second-class citizens and “less than.”
In Judge Moore’s case, his public homophobia and hyper-religious Conservative morality is more for show…because I have to believe that on some level he knows this is a fight he’s destined to lose. He probably figures that if he can play the modern equivalent of George Wallace blocking the entrance to Little Rock’s Central High School, his political star will brighten. He may lose this battle, but when the strategy revolves around winning the war, covering yourself in glory in defeat can be a good thing.
The truly sad thing is that he’s hanging his political future on hatred, homophobia, and a bastardized cafeteria Christianity…and there are people on the Far Right who love him for it. Because no matter how much one believes in the power of love and tolerance, there will always be those who hate and who believe their hatred should take precedence over any and all other considerations.
So, yeah…nothing that would give federal courts authority over the domestic policies of individual states…at least in Moore’s highly selective legal memory.
Stay classy.
