FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
CONTACT:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Petition Demands Judge Roy Moore — Alabama’s Modern Day George Wallace — Be Immediately Removed From Office for Violating Federal Orders on Marriage
** act.couragecampaign.org/sign/AlabamaMarriage **
ALABAMA — After Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore commanded Alabama county judges to violate federal orders and refuse to marry same-sex couples, more than 10,200 people joined with Courage Campaign in calling on the Judicial Inquiry Commission to immediately remove Roy Moore from office and order all Alabama judges to comply with federal law.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE: act.couragecampaign.org/sign/AlabamaMarriage
The petition comes when, after decades of discrimination, thousands of loving same-sex couples lined up to exchange vows but were turned away by many Alabama judges following the instructions of Chief Justice Roy Moore. These law-defying judges decided to stand on the side of bigotry by either denying same-sex couples marriage applications or shutting down their offices altogether.
“Chief Justice Roy Moore is nothing short of a modern day George Wallace. LGBT equality is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time, and Moore is flagrantly violating federal law just as Wallace did when he stood in the doorway to Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama and attempted to block Vivian Malone and James Hood on June 11, 1963. All Alabama couples should have the freedom to marry — not just those who happen to live in counties with law-abiding judges,” explained Dr. Paul Song, executive chairman of the Courage Campaign. “No state or county judge is above federal law. And all judges are required to maintain the dignity of the office they serve. Plain and simple, these defiant judges are out of line, and we need to hold them accountable so that full marriage equality can move forward.”
This would not be the first time that Chief Justice Moore has been removed from office. In 2003, he was removed for defying a federal judge’s order to take down a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building. At the time, the state successfully argued that the chief justice must be removed because his actions “[undercut] the entire workings of the judicial system.”
Courage Campaign, which rose to prominence during the fight over Proposition 8 in California, argues that the same principles that got Judge Moore disbarred over a decade ago, apply today.
For interviews with Courage Campaign, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
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