Alabama judge can't flout gay marriage law: Column

State supreme court chief justices should value and obey the rule of law, not defy it. But Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore apparently doesn't believe that.

Moore advocated for anarchy with the letter he wrote to Gov. Robert Bentley, asking him to defy the federal court ruling against Alabama's same-sex marriage ban. Tuesday's ruling by the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the request for a stay, meaning that same-sex couples in Alabama will be able to marry on Monday.

This is deja vu all over again. The last time Moore was on the court in 2003 he was removed due to his refusal to take down the massive Ten Commandments monument he had installed in the state judicial building. Now, as before, Moore is facing a judicial ethics complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Moore's threat to flout the law sets a horrible precedent. What value will laws and court rulings have if justices in other states advocate defiance of those with which they disagree?

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The fact that Moore believes that the biblical description of marriage supersedes any other legal concept of marriage is disturbing. Still, if Moore were a pastor preaching from his pulpit, he would be free to sort through those biblical complexities and advocate for any version of marriage he wanted. But he's not a pastor. As chief justice of the Alabama supreme court, he's accountable only to the U.S. Constitution and the Alabama Constitution when acting in that role.

Moore has tried to frame this as a state's rights issue, much as segregationists once tried to say that voting rights were a state matter. But this tried-and-tired argument has been discredited by the courts and the will of the people.

One of the many things that the civil rights movement got right is that standing up for what one believes often requires sacrifice. For those active in the movement, it sometimes meant enduring humiliation or suffering the loss of a job or privilege. At its worst, it meant fire hoses, snarling dogs, beatings, arrests, jail and even assassinations.

But if you believe a law is worth defying, you should be prepared to endure the consequences of defying that law. You should not expect to maintain the privilege of your lofty court bench while denouncing the very system that you swore to uphold.

Moore has a right to disagree with same-sex marriage, though more Alabamians are voicing support for it. And it's fine for him to challenge it. But not as a sitting jurist who will play a role in its adjudication.

If Moore feels that strongly about it, he ought to resign his seat and do what the civil rights leaders did: Start a movement. Make a sacrifice. Challenge the courts and any laws, and face the consequences in good conscience.

David Person hosts WEUP Talk on WEUP 94.5 FM/1700 AM in Huntsville, Ala., and is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

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