As if pandering to the Christian nation crowd with a large granite monument of the Ten Commandments in the lobby of Alabama’s Supreme Court building wasn’t bad enough, now Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore thinks it’s a hell of an idea to follow in the footsteps of George Wallace and John Calhoun:
Late Sunday night, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order in which he instructs state probate judges to neither issue nor recognize a marriage license for same-sex couples.
The order states, “Effective immediately, no Probate Judge of the State of Alabama nor any agent or employee of any Alabama Probate Judge shall issue or recognize a marriage license that is inconsistent with Article 1, Section 36.03, of the Alabama Constitution or § 30-1-19, Ala. Code 1975.”
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As far as I know, he has no legal authority to prevent state officials from complying with federal law, even those under his supervision. Handcuffs aren’t necessary but perhaps some duct tape is in order.
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And that was after getting his butt kicked twice running for governor.
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I think that if he attempts to invoke a legal argument, it’s a bit different. I’d much rather see a federal court step in and tell him to cut it out than having him be arrested. If he continues down his path after that, then I assume violating a court order would get him tossed into jail, but don’t hold me to that.
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http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/ex-c_in_re_moore_ct_of_the_judiciary_no._33.pdf
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http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-files-ethics-complaint-against-alabama-chief-justice-roy-moore-over-pledge-to
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I would say that history, jurisprudence, and time is on the side of those who favor LGBT-rights and Same-Sex Marriage but there is probably a sizable minority (or maybe a plurality) of hardcore unpersuadables left. The only thing that can probably get rid of this side is attrition.
*This is going to reveal my geographic narrowness but I am surprised that Huckabees current red-meat campaign tactics. In 2014, it just seems silly to campaign on stuff like NYC women have too much freedom, too much swearing, too much drinking, complaining about Obama’s daughter wearing a Beyonce t-shirt, etc. I guess this plays differently in other parts of the country but how I would love to ask him “Does thou think because thou art virtuous that there shall be no more cakes and ale?”
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We have already seen some right-wing Florida clerks fight tooth and nail in order not to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We have also seen Mike Huckabee* theorize about similar Calhounian techniques.
What’s amusing about that is that I’ve probably forgotten more about Calhoun’s theories and the underlying states rights arguments than the people that invoke them know. It’s also a reason why I shake my head every time I hear the cry of state sovereignty. I guess they don’t realize that the same arguments that support a state’s right to ignore the federal courts also support a state’s right to lawfully secede. I can argue against that position backwards, forwards and in my sleep without using the Civil War or the post Civil War Supreme Court jurisprudence to make my case.
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The timing on this is the same. SCOTUS is going to provide a definitive ruling late spring /early summer, and then Moore and his ilk* won’t even have the fig leaf this still being an active issue in the court system. We’re going to be over 6 months into this being a fait accompli by the time Iowans and New Hamshirites actually do cast a vote in the 2016 Presidential contest, and by then, there will be an entirely different set of talking points and hot button issues.
*I don’t think Thomas and Alito are wrong, actually, in their dissent from the denial of the stay. (that is, they wanted to grant the Alabama AG’s motion to stay the federal court ruling that Moore is taking the path of massive resistance on). They have a point that in an active case before the Supreme court, the active consequences are usually delayed (in this case, marriage licenses) until the Supreme Court makes their final ruling.
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Apparently there is a long-history of Alabama probabte judges refusing to issue marriage licenses to interracial couples long after Loving v. Virginia. Alabama kept the anti-interracial marriage law on the books in a kind of clinched fist defiance of the Supreme Court:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/1999/06/white_weddings.html
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I agree with your point, but I see the Court’s action as less a slap aimed at Alabama than one aimed at the Sixth Circuit. As in, “There isn’t really an active case, we’re just going through the motions because those idiots in the Sixth Circuit don’t seem to be smart enough to understand the clear message we sent.”
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Their dissent made some sense, but I still had to laugh at Mr. Of Course I Help My Wife Lobby and Mr. Bomb Thrower tsk-tsking that the Court is acting with lack of decorum.
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That’s why freedom has to mean a little bit more than just “majority rule”.
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The point is that that there is a large contingent, on this site and in this country, where it’s “democracy prevailed” when their side won some debate or election, and it’s “a failure of democracy” when that same side lost some argument or election.
Don’t forget to mention Supreme Court cases. The doctrine of “judicial restraint” has been defended by both conservatives and liberals.
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“Judicial restraint” and “federalism” both mean “I hate it when my side loses”.
Yep, and I heard almost as much of that after Lawrence v Texas as I did Heller and Citizens United, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen liberals champion federalism. It doesn’t seem like your cup of tea.
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Federalism, which was rooted in the notion of state sovereignty (non-existent today), and the doctrine of states rights developed in the mid 19th Century and invoked by people like George Wallace and Roy Moore rest on very different philosophical foundations (dare I say metaphysical foundations).
I would never expect you to support states rights, nor should you expect me to do the same. Ever. Frankly, it’s a perversion of our federalist system. However, if we wanted to have a conversation about, say, the anti-commandeering doctrine, we should be able to do that without invoking the doctrine of states rights.
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Geez, I think you sat down in my camp. How do you take your coffee?
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But also special props to Judge Michael G. Graffeo of the Tenth Circuit Court of Alabama in Birmingham, who presided over the ceremony and signed the order, impliedly telling Chief Justice Moore where he stands in the hierarchy of binding orders: below that of the Federal court which issued the order in the first place. Judge Graffeo may well be picking a fight with Chief Justice Moore, but he has at least one colleague on his side: Judge Alan L. King of the Alabama Probate Court in and for the County of Jefferson, who offers both a normative and a legal analysis to explain why he was preparing to spend the day ignoring Justice Moore’s order in a courtroom festooned with festive balloons:
It’s a happy day for Alabama. Maybe not so happy for Alabama’s Chief Justice, but that makes him of him.
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http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/05/boehner-house-gop-staying-supreme-court-marriage-cases/
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Funny. I didn’t see any of you rolling out the red carpet for me.
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As soon as Jimmy gets back from his, uh, “errand”, we’ll grab one from his trunk.
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Commies, betas and organic types…oh my!!!!
I assume that the feast being prepared in my celebrated is vegan-approved, gluten free, 100% organic and tastes something like rabbit food.
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That will work.
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Couldn’t run a city in Ohio, but thought he would be a good fit for POTUS.
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