 |
Wants Gay Arrests & Executions |
|
Compiled by GayToday Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Montgomery, Alabama--Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's reliance on religious
rhetoric to decide a case pending before him has sparked sharp criticism
from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Moore recently issued an opinion in a child-custody case calling homosexuality "a sin" that "violates both natural and revealed law." A portion of the ruling cites the biblical books of Genesis and Leviticus. "It appears that Justice Moore is once again making his decisions on the basis of his personal religious beliefs, not the commands of the law," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "Justice Moore would make a great official of the Inquisition, but he doesn't belong on a state supreme court.
Tracing the history of laws banning homosexuality, Moore, in his February 15 ruling, cites not only passages from the books of Genesis and Leviticus but he favorably cites anti-sodomy laws in legal codes stretching back to the sixth century. Moore writes: "No matter how much society appears to change, the law on this subject has remained steadfast from the earliest history of the law, and that law is and must be our law today. The common law designates homosexuality as an inherent evil, and if a person openly engages in such a practice, that fact alone would render him or her an unfit parent." Lynn criticized Moore for using his office to promote a fundamentalist Christian agenda. He noted that Americans United is currently suing Moore in federal court, challenging his display of a two-ton Ten Commandments monument at the Supreme Court building in Montgomery. "Moore apparently thinks we live in a theocracy, not a democracy," Lynn said. "This opinion is remarkably ignorant. It sounds like it was written in the Dark Ages, not the beginning of the 21st century." |
