Press Releases from Gay Rights Advocates Organizations

HRC Calls Alabama Justice Remarks a Disgrace to the Legal Profession

Justice is Ill-Informed and UNfit to Make Unbiased Rulings, Says HRC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002

WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign called remarks about gay and lesbian people made today by Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court "contemptible" and a "disgrace" to the legal profession. In his concurrence with a 9-0 decision that denied custody of three children to their lesbian mother, Moore gratuitously attacked lesbian and gay families, said HRC.

According to Moore, homosexuality is an "inherent evil, and if a person openly engages in such a practice, that fact alone would render him or her an unfit parent."

"Justice Moore's remarks are contemptible and he ought to recuse himself from future cases involving gay issues because he is clearly prejudiced and unfit to make unbiased rulings," said Seth Kilbourn, HRC's national field director.

"Chief Justice Moore's homophobic diatribe reveals an ignorance and judicial intemperance not befitting a chief justice of a state supreme court. He is not worthy of his position," added HRC Legal Director Tony Varona.

"Justice Moore's disparaging comments are offensive, reprehensible and a violation of public trust," said David White, state coordinator of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Alabama. "We are calling for an ethics investigation because he obviously cannot impartially hear a case involving gay and lesbian citizens."

Moore's remarks about gay people as parents are ill-informed and erroneous, according to Lisa Bennett, who runs HRC FamilyNet -- the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's web channel for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender family issues.

"Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics joined a growing body of child welfare organizations that have issued policy statements asserting that a parent's sexual orientation is irrelevant to his or her ability to raise a child," Bennett said. "In addition, leading psychological organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, have declared that sexual orientation is not a determinant of good parenting."

Moore has a history of imposing his theocratic opinions on Alabama's citizens. Moore once defied a fellow Alabama judge's order to remove a plaque of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. For this action, Moore received awards from extreme right political organizations and appeared in media promotions. In 1999, Moore received the Family, Faith and Freedom Citation presented by the anti-gay Family Research Council. He also appeared on Pat Robertson's 700 Club, D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Hour and James Dobson's Focus on the Family.

On Feb. 4, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement supporting legal and legislative efforts to provide second-parent or co-parent adoptions to same-sex couples. The academy based its position on a review of scientific literature, which led it to conclude that such adoptions are in the best interests of children.

The policy statement was published in the February 2002 issue of Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed academic journal. It urges its members to "support the right of every child and family to the financial, psychological and legal security that results from having legally recognized parents who are committed to each other and the welfare of their children." The statement is accompanied by a technical report that provides details from the best available scientific studies of children who grow up with gay or lesbian parents.

More information on adoption laws is available at www.hrc.org/familynet.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

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WASHINGTON (Feb. 4) — HRC LAUDS POLICY STATEMENT BY PEDIATRIC GROUP RECOMMENDING SECOND-PARENT ADOPTION RIGHTS FOR ALL SAME-SEX COUPLES

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: REBECCA FARMER, 202-628-8669 ext. 116

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.

NGLTF Condemns Remarks by Alabama Chief Justice; Recalls Third Anniversary of Brutal Hate Crime in State

MEDIA CONTACT:
NGLTF Communications Department
ngltf@ngltf.org
202-332-6483
Pager: 800-757-6476

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) today condemned remarks made by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore as part of a 9-0 decision that took custody of three children away from their lesbian mother.

The Court last week awarded custody of three Alabama teens to their father rather than their lesbian mother. In the court's opinion, 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 that homosexuality is "abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature." He quoted scripture, historical documents, and previous state court rulings that he said backed his view.

"It is appalling to see that blatant bigotry and unrepentant ignorance reign supreme in Alabama's highest court. Chief Justice Moore has decreed that his personal religious beliefs will now be the law of the land in Alabama. This violates the constitutional mandate of separation of church and state and it renders him unfit to serve as a judge," said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of NGLTF. "Moore's beliefs about gay parenting fly in the face of indisputable evidence to the contrary. His opinions about homosexuality are out of step with the American public and have no place in a court of law. He should be recalled from the bench."

As a result of the comments by the chief justice, Alabama GLBT advocacy organizations have called for his removal. "He is not fit to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court," said David White, state coordinator of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Alabama. Ken Baker, Equality Begins at Home chairman, said, "Judge Roy Moore has shown that he is not capable of judging gay and lesbian citizens fairly and should resign immediately."

Jean's remarks were referring to the following research, all supporting adoption:

• Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that, "A growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that children who grow up with 1 or 2 gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual."
  
  
• The American Psychological Association reports "not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents."
  
  
• The Child Welfare League of America, the nation's premier child advocacy organization, states that "in considering gay and lesbian prospective adoptive parents, sexual orientation and the capacity to nurture a child are separate issues and should not be confused."
  
  
• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children also support evaluating gay and lesbian applicants for adoption the same as heterosexual applicants.

Rally and Vigil Tonight in Alabama

At 7 p.m. tonight on the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery, activists will hold a rally and vigil in memory of victims of violence including Billy Jack Gaither, murdered three years ago today in Coosa County, Ala. On Feb. 19, 1999, Gaither was taken to a remote location, bludgeoned to death with an axe handle, and his body placed on a pile of burning tires. His charred remains were discovered the next day. Charles Monroe Butler and Steven Eric Mullins, who confessed to planning the crime weeks in advance and attributed their act to Gaither's sexual orientation, were sentenced to life in prison. The year of the murder, Alabama reported no hate crimes to the FBI in its annual crime report.

"There is a connection between hateful speech and hateful action," continued Jean. "On the anniversary of the brutal slaying of Billy Jack Gaither, we call for an end to abhorrent rhetoric like that of Chief Justice Moore."

The rally and vigil comes as Alabama's Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on SB 31, an amendment to add sexual orientation to the state's hate crime law. The vote is expected on Thursday, Feb. 21.

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