Montgomery, Ala. • Alabama's chief justice built his career on defiance: In 2003, Roy Moore was removed from the bench for defying a federal court order to remove a boulder-sized Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse.
On Monday, as Alabama became the 37th state where gays can legally wed, Moore took a defiant stand again, using the kind of states' rights language used during the Civil War and again during the civil rights movement. He argued that a federal judge's Jan. 23 ruling striking down the Bible Belt state's gay-marriage ban was an illegal intrusion on the state's sovereignty. He demanded Alabama's probate judges not issue any marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"I am the chief administrative officer. It's my duty to speak up when I see the jurisdiction of our courts being intruded by unlawful federal authority," Moore, 67, said in an interview Monday.
His stand did not succeed in stopping gay couples from tying the knot. But it brought forth another round of criticism of Moore.
Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a major civil rights organization, branded Moore the "Ayatollah of Alabama."
Moore's office in the Alabama judicial building is down the street from the Alabama Capitol, where in 1963 Gov. George Wallace promised "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and vowed to fight what he portrayed as the tyranny of the federal government.
"Moore is using the religion issue to further his political career, just as Wallace used the race issue to further his," Cohen said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a judicial complaint against Moore accusing him of trying to incite chaos at the probate courts.
On Monday, a few counties refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses or shut down their licensing operations altogether, citing confusion about what they should do. But gay couples got married at county courthouses in Birmingham and Montgomery. In Birmingham, the Jefferson County Probate Office said it had issued more than 250 licenses to same-sex couples by midday, with people still arriving.
Same-sex couples wait for the Jefferson County courthouse doors to open so they can be legally married, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala. A federal judge's order overturning the state's ban on gay marriage goes into effect on Monday, making Alabama the 37th state to allow gays and lesbians to wed. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)
Pat Helms wears a sticker, tie and flower as he and partner Curtis Stephens wait for the Jefferson County courthouse doors to open so they can be legally married Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala. A federal judge's order overturning the state's ban on gay marriage goes into effect on Monday, making Alabama the 37th state to allow gays and lesbians to wed. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)
Tori Sisson, left, tears up and laughs as Shanté Wolfe wipes away her tears during their marriage ceremony after being the first couple in the county to file their marriage license, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala. Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday despite an 11th-hour attempt from the state's chief justice to block the weddings. Alabama is the 37th state to allow gays and lesbians to wed. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Amanda Keller holds a flag as she joins other gay marriage supporters in Linn Park, at the Jefferson County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop the marriages from beginning in the conservative southern state. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)
Tori Sisson, left, and Shante Wolfe, right, exchange wedding rings during their wedding ceremony, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala. Sisson and Wolfe are the first couple to file their marriage license in Montgomery County. Alabama is the 37th state to allow gays and lesbians to wed. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2014 file photo, Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court addresses a Pro-Life Mississippi and a Pastors for Life luncheon in Jackson, Miss. Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, despite an 11th-hour attempt from Moore an outspoken opponent to block the weddings. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
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