Alabama's highest court on Wednesday
upheld the decision that removed Roy Moore from the bench.
Last year, the Alabama Court of the
Judiciary suspended Moore without pay for the remainder of his term
as chief justice. Because of his age, Moore cannot run for the
office again.
The nine-member panel found Moore
guilty of violating the state's cannons of judicial ethics. The
charges stem from an administrative order Moore issued months after
the Supreme Court found in Obergefell that gay and lesbian
couples have a constitutional right to marry. Moore effectively
ordered the state's 68 probate judges to ignore the high court's
ruling, saying that it did not apply in Alabama because the state's
highest court had upheld Alabama's marriage ban four months prior to
Obergefell.
Moore has argued that his January 6,
2016 order was meant to provide a “status” report for judges and
was not a call to defy the Supreme Court on Obergefell.
Moore appealed the ruling to a special
state supreme court made up of retired judges.
According to AL.com, Moore remained
defiant during a press conference with reporters held at the Alabama
State Capitol.
“I have done my duty under the laws
of this state to stand for the undeniable truth that God ordained
marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Moore
said.
Moore has a long record of opposing
same-sex marriage, including claiming that such unions go
against God, will lead
to incest, polygamy and child
abuse, and will “destroy
the United States.”
Moore also said that he would announce
next week whether he'll run for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Attorney
General Jeff Sessions.