CNN's Chris Cuomo Eviscerates Homophobic Alabama Judge Roy Moore Over Marriage Equality
Judge
Roy Moore -- the grandstanding wingnut chief justice of Alabama best
known for defying a federal court order to remove a monument displaying
the Ten Commandments from the state judicial building -- was a guest on
CNN's New Day this morning.
Moore appeared via video link from Montgomery to discuss his desperate, futile fight against marriage equality. On Sunday, he ordered Alabama probate judges to ignore a valid, lawful federal court order -- which the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to take effect -- requiring that same-sex couples be allowed to marry in the Yellowhammer State. Many Alabama judges have complied, meaning that same-sex couples in the state can currently receive marriage licenses in some counties, but not all.
In
the CNN segment, Moore categorically stated that his defense of
marriage discrimination was about the "ordained law of the country." He
added, "It's about sexual preference overcoming an institution which has
existed in our state, in our United States, for centuries, and I think
it's wrong."
Host
Chris Cuomo was ready for him. For twenty-five straight minutes he
sparred with Moore, swatting down his ridiculously antiquated,
distorted, platitudinous talking points one by one. Cuomo accused Moore
of placing his private value judgments above the constitutional
judgments of the federal courts. When Moore claimed that "our rights do
not come from the Constitution, they come from God," Cuomo wasn't having
it:
"Our laws do not come from God, and you know that. They come from man... Our rights do not come from God. That's your faith, that's my faith. But that's not our country. Our laws come from the collective agreement and compromise."
Cuomo
also called out Judge Moore for his disturbing attempt to force all
Alabamians to obey his personal religious views, and blasted Moore for
inserting his view of God into government.
"When you take the rules of your religion and you put them on everybody else, that is not what we do in this country. Your definition of marriage is based on your faith, you've said it a hundred times, that it is derived from God. That is not how it works here, and you know that."Equal protection applies to all by compromise. And you would even need to have a rational basis for why it would need to be only between a man and a woman, and all you can say is, 'Because God said so. It's always been that way.' That's not enough."
Throughout
the exchange, Moore refused to categorically state whether or not he
would personally obey a Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples have a
constitutional right to marry.
Cuomo
gave Moore nothing short of a shellacking. (He even accused Moore of
spewing "word salad" at one point!) Pop some popcorn and watch the
fireworks, after the break.
Video Here:
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