NOW Calls For Resignation of Anti-Gay Alabama Judge

February 20, 2002

"Anyone as bigoted as Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore is entirely unfit for a position on the bench," said National Organization for Women (NOW) Action Vice President Olga Vives. "Moore's anti-gay comments are appalling and warrant his immediate removal from the Alabama Supreme Court. Moore's outrageous bias underscores the need to monitor judges at all levels of the judicial system."

"NOW's judicial justice project is organizing nationwide to keep bigoted, right-wing judges like Moore from ever reaching the bench," Vives said. "George W. Bush clearly holds the power to imprint his conservative agenda on the U.S. judicial system. To date, the Bush Administration has sent over 90 nominations to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Most of these nominations are ultraconservatives just waiting for the chance to dismantle civil rights and women's rights."

Moore's remarks in a child custody case brought widespread outrage. In agreeing that the mother's same-sex relationship made her unfit for custody, Chief Justice Moore wrote, "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." Moore went on to say in his written concurring opinion that homosexuality is "abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature."

"Moore's comments are not only inappropriate, they're completely erroneous," Vives said. "The American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America have all found that sexual orientation does not determine parenting quality or ability. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a study this month which found that children of same-sex parents fare just as well emotionally, cognitively, socially and sexually as children of opposite-sex parents."

"NOW calls on officials at the state and federal levels take immediate action to prevent further obstruction of justice in Alabama by Moore's inability to rule without bias and demand his removal from the highest court in the state," Vives said.

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