Religious groups rally for Roy Moore, gay marriage ban

Religious groups gathered outside the Alabama Judicial Building on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery Wednesday where they showed their support for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and his stance against same-sex marriage.

The groups, led by Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition and Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, say their purpose is to peacefully resist what they consider judicial overreach, saying the federal court is forcing its opinion on a state that overwhelmingly supported the Defense of Marriage Act which banned gay marriage.

They are now calling for a peaceful national campaign of resistance for citizens, community leaders and members of the clergy to work together to stand against judicial overreach.

"The last group of people that we would want deciding what our public institution should look like would be federal courts who in years passed ruled that African Americans were not the same as white citizens," said Rev. Mahoney. "They ruled for separate but equal schools, they restricted free speech, and across our country we are seeing courts over stretch their boundary."

Chief Justice Moore has challenged the ruling of a federal court judge who struck down Alabama's gay marriage ban on January 23. He says the lowest federal court does not have jurisdiction over the state's highest court.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court have both refused the state's request to stay the judge's ruling until SCOTUS takes up a similar case later this year. Most Alabama counties have agreed to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, though several had opted not to.

Mahoney and Schenck have rallied to Moore's defense before. Both led rallies to keep Moore in office back in 2003 before he was removed from the bench for defying a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the building.

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