Christian conservative Bryan Fischer
and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are among those
cheering Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's effort to block gay and
lesbian couples from marrying in Alabama.
Moore on Wednesday issued an
administrative order which stated that the state's laws which exclude
gay couples from marriage remain in effect and that probate judges
have a “ministerial duty” to enforce them despite a Supreme Court
finding that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
(Related: Alabama
Chief Justice Roy Moore calls on judges to enforce state's gay
marriage ban.)
Democratic presidential candidate
Hillary
Clinton criticized Moore's order as “unconstitutional” and
the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed an ethics
complaint against Moore, asking for his removal from the bench.
Federal
prosecutors also weighed in, saying that Alabama probate judges
should obey the high court's ruling.
In a tweet to followers, Fischer, the
host of American Family Association's (AFA) Focal Point radio
show and a vocal opponent of LGBT rights, praised Moore for
“upholding the constitution.”
“Judge Moore the only one upholding
Constitution, which reserves marriage to the states. Civil
obedience, not disobedience,” he messaged to his 8,541 followers.
“Note to GOP candidates: sodomy-based
marriage is NOT the 'law of the land.' SCOTUS CANNOT make law. Art.
1, Sec. 1,” Fischer added in a separate tweet.
NOM, the largest group working to
undermine the high court's marriage ruling, said that Moore's advice
to judges was “consistent with the developing resistance in America
to the Supreme Court's attempt to legislate from the bench when it
comes to marriage, ignoring the federal constitution in the process
and inventing out of thin air a 'right' to same-sex marriage.”
“The American people reject [the]
judicial activism of the US Supreme Court and their attempt to
redefine marriage. They continue to support marriage as it has
existed throughout our nation's history, the union of one man and one
woman,” the group added, ignoring national polls which show that a
majority (59%) of Americans support
the Supreme Court's ruling on the issue.