The ‘Ten Commandments Judge’ said he has no regrets
An Alabama ethics panel voted Chief Justice Roy Moore from office Nov. 12 for his refusal to remove a granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. Moore, who had been suspended since August, said he had no regrets and announced plans to unveil proposed legislation that would rein in the power of federal courts.
“You will hear from me again when it comes to the right to acknowledge God,” Moore told supporters after the decision.
Judge William Thompson, who presided over the nine-member panel that voted unanimously to oust Moore, said Moore had placed himself “above the law,” the Associated Press reported. However, The Washington Post reported that the firing helped cement Moore’s celebrity status, adding that he is seen as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate or Alabama governor.
The dispute over the legality of putting religious displays in public places has galvanized many Christian conservatives, with Focus on the Family’s James Dobson participating in rallies aimed at drawing Christian support for Moore’s fight.
Moore’s attempt to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court failed, but Christian leaders say the battle is not over. “Roy Moore’s struggle … is a conflict between tyranny and freedom,” said the Rev. D. James Kennedy, founder of the Center for Reclaiming America in Washington, D.C. “The outcome may well settle the question of whether we will return to freedom or be confirmed in our emerging status as objects of our ‘robed masters.'”
Adrienne S. Gaines