Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom
Parker said Tuesday that he believes the Supreme Court overstepped
its authority in striking down gay marriage bans in all 50 states.
Parker, a former Religious Right
activist, made his remarks during an appearance on Bryan Fischer's
AFA-sponsored radio program.
Parker said that the Supreme Court
ruling was not needed since gay men and lesbians are not being denied
their constitutional rights. He said that everyone is free to marry
someone of the opposite sex.
He went on to call on state courts to
defy the ruling in order to foment a “revival” that will return
America to its founding principles.
“The states should be a check on the
federal government, and the proper organ within a state to do that
versus the U.S. Supreme Court would be a state supreme court,”
Parker
said. “Now, I doubt that it would be a blanket defiance of all
jurisdiction on the U.S. Supreme Court, but in regards to the
Obergefell decision where it's clear that they jumped outside
of the precedents in order to impose their will on this country, that
yes, resisting that decision could maybe start a revival of what we
need in this country and return to our original founding principles.”
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy
Moore is also an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights and the Supreme
Court's summer decision.
(Related: Roy
Moore hopes war doesn't break out over gay marriage ruling.)