Controversial Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has warned that the Supreme Court's decision in favor of same-sex marriage could lead to a new "war" in the United States. He made those fiery comments in an interview that was posted online on Monday.
In an interview posted on YouTube and conducted by "Voice of Resistance" host Randall Terry, Moore predicted that the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage would face "a great backlash" from the American people. He drew comparisons between the actions of the high court and King George III during the American Revolution.
"I hope we don't have a war," Moore said. "I hope we don't have conflicts, but we definitely need to recognize that same-sex marriage is something that has not existed on a government level."
Moore added that "people have not seen what the consequences of this court's ruling are yet." He also claimed that state governors can disregard the Supreme Court's decision in their states.
"If the decision contradicts the Constitution, then it is not law," Moore said. "And if it is not a law, then you don't have to obey it."
According to Jacob Kerr of the Huffington Post, Moore ordered county probate judges to ignore a federal district court's ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Alabama in January. He later recused himself in March from an Alabama Supreme Court order to stop all same-sex marriages in the state.
"In June, after the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges ruling legalized same-sex marriages across the country, Moore also recused himself from another state court order that he said delays the decision's implementation in Alabama," Kerr wrote.
Moore contended in the interview that "God gives rights, and the government's role is to secure those rights."
"When governments dismiss God out of the equation and pretends to get rights, we suffer accordingly," Moore said. "That's what we're facing in our country, whether it [is] with abortion, same-sex marriage, or anything else."
According to Moore, government "takes rights away" whenever it "pretends to give rights."
Terry then referred to a section of the Declaration of Independence where it stated that the people had the right to "alter or abolish" government that opposes such rights. He asked Moore if conditions in the United States now were similar to that under British colonial rule.
"I think that's where we were in 1776," Moore said. "If government is not securing the rights God gave us, which obviously when you think of marriage is an institution ordained by God and redefining it, that's not really securing it, is it?"
Moore then focused his fury on Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in favor of same-sex marriage.
"Just because he writes it, doesn't make it law if it contradicts the Constitution," Moore said.
