Quote Of The Day - Paul Hard

"Four years ago, this journey began in grief and pain. I am grateful that the courts have ruled that it will end in justice and equality for couples like David and me. I pray that equality for LGBT Americans continues and need not be won at the cost of sorrow and turmoil. I hope that this decision marks a new day for Alabamians and others in the public’s recognition of my marriage and a love that is equal to any other." - Paul Hard (above right with his late husband), who last week finally won his legal battle against his evil former mother-in-law.

Hard was represented by the SPLC, who announced the closure of the case today. Here's how it all started:

Hard, an assistant professor at a Montgomery area university, and Fancher were married in May 2011 in Massachusetts. Fancher was killed three months later when his car collided with a large truck on Alabama’s Interstate 65. Hard sued the trucking companies in a separate case not filed by the SPLC, and that suit was settled in July 2014. On the morning of the accident, when Hard arrived at the hospital in Prattville, Alabama, a receptionist refused to give him any information about his husband. He was told he was not a member of Fancher’s “family” and that gay marriages weren’t recognized in Alabama. Finally, a hospital orderly told Hard, “Well, he’s dead.” After receiving the traumatic news, a funeral home director cited Alabama law in insisting that the death certificate indicate Fancher was never married – even though Fancher and Hard were legally married in Massachusetts. Likewise, the state would not recognize Hard as the surviving spouse. Fancher’s mother, Pat Fancher, sought to be the sole beneficiary of the wrongful death suit proceeds, even though Hard was due a portion as the surviving spouse.

The mother-in-law was represented by the Foundation For Moral Law, which was founded by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore after he was first booted from the bench. Since Moore's reelection the group has been headed by Moore's wife, Kayla Moore. The SPLC has filed unrelated judicial ethics complaints against Roy Moore for his calls to defy the US Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling.

ALABAMA: SPLC Updates Complaint That Roy Moore Has Violated Judicial Ethics

AL.com reports:

In its filing today, SPLC says Moore has committed new ethics violations by improperly commenting on pending or impending cases in numerous speeches and interviews; by suggesting that Supreme Court precedent need not be followed; and by announcing that he would recuse himself from cases rather than apply precedents with which he disagreed. The SPLC also contends Moore's continued association with the Foundation for Moral Law also violates the Alabama Canon of Judicial Ethics. Moore's wife, Kayla, services as the president of the legal services organization; Moore is listed as president emeritus.

"Justice Moore has been removed from office for unethical actions once before, but it's clear that he hasn't learned his lesson," SPLC President Richard Cohen said in a statement. "It's obviously unethical for him to urge defiance of a United States Supreme Court ruling. He needs to understand that he is a judge, not a preacher." The SPLC complaint states that in a July 7 interview with political activist Randall Terry, Moore indicated that he was in "active" conflict with the federal judiciary over its "horrendous opinion" in the same-sex marriage case and was fighting the same-sex ruling with briefs and speeches.

The SPLC's original complaint, filed in January, contends that Moore is "encouraging lawlessness by attempting to assemble state officials and judges to oppose the federal court system."

ALABAMA: Evil Mother-In-Law LOSES, Court Orders Big Payout To Gay Widower

Evil Alabama mother-in-law Pat Fancher and the Foundation For Moral Law have finally lost their attempt to deny gay widower Paul Hard the proceeds from a wrongful death suit filed on behalf of his late husband, who died in a car accident in 2011. Equality Case Files has the order:

The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to issue a check drawn on ServisFirst Bank where the funds are deposited in a money market account for the principal amount of $552,956.69, plus ninety percent of all interest earned to date that is due for distribution to Plaintiff Paul Hard. This check shall be made payable to Servis First Bank. ServisFirst Bank shall provide the Clerk of the Court with official checks payable to: a. The Southern Poverty Law Center Client Trust Account in the principal amount of $552,956.69, plus ninety percent interest earned to date; and b. The Clerk of the Court for ten percent of all interest earned to date to the U.S. Treasury.

Two weeks ago the Foundation For Moral Law filed an argument which claimed that the Obergefell ruling does not apply retroactively to unsettled legal claims.

"The issue is not whether someone may marry a member of the same sex today. The issue is whether a court may or should look back four years and recognize a marriage that was not legally valid. Of course, if the marriage is recognized it will only cause further economic harm to a family which has already lost one its own. And if recognized, this man will be awarded an entire spousal share of the wrongful death proceeds which would be unjust even under normal circumstances considering the two were 'married' less than 3 months."

Immediately following the above-linked ruling, the Foundation For Moral Law filed a motion to set aside the order. The same judge responded by saying, "Didn't I just say go fuck yourself?"

RELATED: The Foundation For Moral Law was headed by Roy Moore until he won reelection to the Alabama Supreme Court. The group is now headed by his wife, Kayla Moore. The Foundation For Moral Law openly advocates for replacing the government of the United States with a Christian theocracy ruled by "biblical law."

Evil Alabama Mother Still Won't Let Dead Son's Husband Have His Estate

Remember Patricia Fancher, the evil Alabama mother who hired the Foundation For Moral Law to petition SCOTUS to keep her former son-in-law, Paul Hard, from inheriting his dead husband's estate? Despite the Obergefell ruling, she is still fighting. From the FML's executive director Matthew Kidd:

"The issue is not whether someone may marry a member of the same sex today. The issue is whether a court may or should look back four years and recognize a marriage that was not legally valid. Of course, if the marriage is recognized it will only cause further economic harm to a family which has already lost one its own. And if recognized, this man will be awarded an entire spousal share of the wrongful death proceeds which would be unjust even under normal circumstances considering the two were 'married' less than 3 months."

From FML president Kayla Moore, wife of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore:

"It is outrageous that five unelected lawyers on the U.S. Supreme Court think they can invalidate a constitutional amendment adopted by 81% of Alabama voters in 2006, on the flimsy ground that violates a so-called 'right' found nowhere in the Constitution. It adds insult to injury to contend that this so-called 'right' should be applied retroactively to matters that should have been settled long ago."

Back in November 2014 the Social Security Administration advised Paul Hard that since he and his late husband were not married "under the laws of Alabama," he is not eligible for federal death benefits. In February 2015, when same-sex marriage first became legal in Alabama, Paul Hard was granted an amended death certificate declaring him to have been the legal spouse of his late husband. That's when Hard's evil former mother-in-law employed the FML in an attempt to thwart Hard's receipt of his share of the settlement in a wrongful death suit filed following his late husband's car accident. According to yesterday's press release, the FML is now claiming that Obergefell does not retroactively apply to unsettled legal actions. Not incidentally, the FML openly advocates for replacing the government of the United States with a Christian theocracy ruled by "biblical law."

Roy Moore: SCOTUS Murdered God

AL.com reports:

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore told a church crowd on Sunday that the U.S. Supreme Court "destroyed the institution of God" by legalizing same-sex marriage. Moore, who made national news when he ordered the state's probate judges to withhold same-sex marriage license in violation of a federal judge's decision, addressed a congregation of about 150 people at Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore.

"How do they come out now and say that marriage, which is ordained by God, doesn't mean what it's always meant, between a man and woman?" Moore said. "Not between two men, two women, or three women and one man. "See, they don't have a definition. They've just destroyed the institution of God. Despite what they think, it's not their doing. Satan drives us. He's out there destroying everything God created including us as human beings."

Throughout his 35-minute speech, Moore sprinkled in biblical passages and religious quotes written by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as proof that the United States is a Christian nation. He spoke in support of his non-profit, the Foundation for Moral Law. Following his speech, he sold and signed $20 copies of his book "So Help Me God," and $5 pamphlets that featured speeches and writings from the founders of the United States.

The Foundation For Moral Law openly advocates for turning the United States into a Christian theocracy ruled by "biblical law."

Moore: We Might Have War Over Marriage

RELATED: Interviewer Randall Terry advocates for the criminalization of all forms of birth control. In 2004 his adopted son Jamiel came out in an Out Magazine essay, prompting Terry to blame Jamiel's gayness on his birth parents. Jamiel died in a car accident in 2011. One of Terry's daughters has converted to Islam and another was reportedly banned from his home after two pregnancies before the age of 18. Terry himself was thrown out his longtime church after divorcing his wife of 19 years and marrying his 25 year-old assistant. He ran for president in 2012 and was awarded two convention delegates after winning eleven Oklahoma counties in the Democratic primary.

ALABAMA: State Supreme Clerks Orders Stop To Same-Sex Marriage Licenses UPDATE: Or Maybe They Didn't

AL.com reports:

The Alabama state supreme court today issued an order that effectively keeps probate judges from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples for 25 days. Chief Justice Roy Moore recused himself, but he said his view of the order is that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday ending the gay marriage order is stalled in Alabama. Seven of the nine justices concurred with the order. Only Moore and Supreme Court Justice Greg Shaw joined Moore did not sign on. "I am not real clear what it's saying .. it's very unclear," Jefferson County Probate Judge Sherri Friday said. At this moment, they are still issuing licenses to same-sex couples as her attorneys review the order. Part of the order, Friday said, states parts of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that were appealable for rehearing.

Pointless grandstanding. But I knew Roy Moore was being suspiciously quiet.

UPDATE: The HRC says the above-linked report is inaccurate.

Today, contrary to some press accounts, the Alabama Supreme Court did not order a stop to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) called on probate judges that were already issuing marriage licenses to continue to do so—and urged the probate judges that had not yet issued marriage licenses to begin doing so. HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow issued the following statement:

“There is no justification for delaying or obstructing the clear message of the Supreme Court of the United States—marriage equality must begin in Alabama, and probate judges who stand in the way of that legal imperative risk exposing themselves to legal consequences. There is zero chance of marriage equality being reheard by the Supreme Court—particularly given that all four states that were parties in this case have accepted the outcome—and as a result the Court's holding in Obergefell v. Hodeges should be implemented across the country immediately.”

REPORT: Roy Moore And Mike Huckabee's Co-Author Was Sued For Child Molestation

Buzzfeed reports that John Perry, the co-author of books by Roy Moore and Mike Huckabee, was accused of molesting a young girl in two separate lawsuits.

“The alleged sexual battery was reported to have occurred when the victim was between the ages of 11 and 14,” said Nashville police department spokesperson Don Aaron in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “As a result of the investigation, the allegations of sexual battery were sustained, but it was determined that the statute of limitations had tolled, barring prosecution. The victim was age 18 when she first disclosed the allegations to non-law enforcement and said at that time she did not want the matter reported to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services or the police.” In a second series of lawsuits brought in a county court in Tennessee, and related to the same alleged acts of child molestation, Austin Davis, a former parishioner of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, claims that the church covered up Perry’s alleged acts of child molestation and launched a campaign to silence and harass Davis.

Huckabee's spokesman has not responded to a request for comments.

At The Latest Alabama Hate Rally

We didn't have any video for my report on Monday, but Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has thoughtfully posted the below clip to his Facebook page.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap:

A bill to allow North Carolina officials to refuse to serve any couple they don't like is several steps closer to passing, even after the governor vetoed it. Texas is coming up with new excuses for refusing to issue marriage licenses. And with a federal ruling on marriage due any day now, Judge Roy Moore continues to speak out against the Supreme Court.

Hate Group Leader Kayla Moore Passes Along Fake Story About Hillary Clinton

This weekend Foundation For Moral Law head Kayla Moore will be headlining yet another anti-gay marriage rally in Alabama. In the meantime she's posted a fake news item about Hillary Clinton from a satire site. Deliberate or stupid? Your call.

ALABAMA: Last Stand Against Marriage

From the website:

Alabama! Be a voice for truth: Marriage = One Man + One Woman. God created it. Nature reveals it. Societies thrive on it. Children are nurtured by it. History affirms it. The Gospel is exemplified by it. Man doesn't change it. Calling all pastors, churches, families and individuals to join thousands in Montgomery on June 6th, to send a united message to elected officials, the Supreme Court and the world: Alabama is for Marriage. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on marriage in June, you have a duty to speak up while the very nature of marriage is being threatened. Devotion to Christ, love for your country and concern for your children demand immediate action.

The list of speakers includes several state reps and Foundation For Moral Law head Kayla Moore, wife of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

RELATED: Two weeks ago the Alabama Senate voted 22-3 to entirely do away with all marriage licenses. See the bill here. The legislative session ends on Friday and the bill has not yet gotten a hearing in the Alabama House, where Republicans have a more than 2-1 majority.

ALSO RELATED: Roy Moore is ranting as always.

The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, said he believes that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that homosexual marriage is a Constitutional right, it “will destroy our country,” and added that “there are people who would like to see this country destroyed.” “What [the court is] doing is they’re toying with something that’s like dynamite and will destroy our country,” Justice Roy Moore told CNSNews.com in an exclusive interview last week during the Family Research Council’s annual pastor’s retreat in Washington, D.C.

Roy Moore: Impeach Ruth Bader Ginsburg

TRAILER: War Room

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is urging his Facebook supporters to see this upcoming Christian flick, which appears to feature a cameo by Kirk Cameron although he does not appear on the IMDb cast list. More interesting is that the film's directors, brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, are besties with the Duggar family and even appeared in a 2010 episode of 19 Kids And Counting which was titled Duggars Go Hollywood.

ALABAMA: Another Anti-Gay Rally

On his Facebook page Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is promoting the above anti-gay rally for which his wife and Foundation For Moral Law head Kayla Moore is one of the speakers. From the rally's website:

Alabama! Be a voice for truth: Marriage = One Man + One Woman. God created it. Nature reveals it. Societies thrive on it. Children are nurtured by it. History affirms it. The Gospel is exemplified by it. Man doesn't change it. Calling all pastors, churches, families and individuals to join thousands in Montgomery on June 6th, to send a united message to elected officials, the Supreme Court and the world: Alabama is for Marriage. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on marriage in June, you have a duty to speak up while the very nature of marriage is being threatened. Devotion to Christ, love for your country and concern for your children demand immediate action.

Also speaking is FML senior counsel John Eidsmoe, who has called for America to impose "biblical law" and all of its punishments. Eidsmoe, not incidentally, was Michele Bachmann's professor at Oral Roberts University.

Foundation For Moral Law Files Recusal Demand Against Ginsburg And Kagan

Via press release:

The Foundation for Moral Law, a Montgomery-based nonprofit corporation dedicated to defending the Constitution as understood by its Framers, filed a motion Monday in the United States Supreme Court, urging the recusal of two Justices who have performed same-sex marriages. Canon 3A(6) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges provides that “A judge should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court.” 28 U.S.C. sec 455(a) mandates that a Justice “shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Because they have performed same-sex marriages, and because Justice Ginsburg has spoken publicly in favor of same-sex marriage, the Foundation contends that those Justices are predisposed to rule in favor of same-sex marriage and are unable or unwilling to consider this case impartially, and that their words and actions give the appearance of bias, if not bias itself. Foundation President Kayla Moore said, ” Common sense dictates that one who has performed same-sex marriages cannot objectively rule on their legality. If these Justices participate in this case, the Court’s decision will forever be questioned as being based on their personal feelings rather than on the Constitution itself. With far less evidence of bias Chief Justice Roy Moore voluntarily did not vote on the recent Alabama Supreme Court case regarding same-sex marriage. Justices Ginsburg and Kagan should follow his example.”

Far less evidence of bias! Oh, my sides.

RELATED: Kayla Moore took over as head of the Foundation For Moral Law when her husband Roy Moore was reelected to the Alabama Supreme Court after having been booted from the bench for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments display from his courtroom. Roy Moore's triumphant return was bankrolled by a leader of an SPLC-certified racist hate group who recently "celebrated" the 150th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Anti-Gay Marriage Group Celebrates 150th Anniversary Of Lincoln's Assassination

Back in February white supremacists from the League Of The South distributed signs like the ones seen above at the anti-gay marriage rally held on the steps of Alabama Capitol Building, where supporters cheered Roy Moore. Yesterday the League Of The South celebrated the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. From their president Michael Hill:

One hundred and fifty years ago today, Abraham Lincoln died at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. As Booth pulled the trigger in Ford’s Theatre, he is said to have shouted: “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Thus always to tyrants). Many, including some Southerners, believe that Lincoln, had he lived, would have been lenient to the South during Reconstruction. The truth of the matter is that we will never know. But we do know this: Lincoln refused to allow the Southern States to leave the voluntary union of their Fathers and provoked a war against them that killed hundreds of thousands and left the South devastated for decades to come. He also destroyed the political order created by the Founders and set the stage for the all-encompassing Leviathan State under which all Americans (except the favored classes) suffer today. Sic semper tyrannis, indeed! I will raise a glass today in celebration of the death of all tyrants, including Abe Lincoln, who have afflicted my people over the ages. And as you’re out and about across the South today, be on the lookout for signs–subtle and not-so-subtle–of our celebratory mood. May God save the South!

Right Wing Watch reported recently that Roy Moore's successful return to the Alabama Supreme Court was bankrolled by Michael Peroutka, a former leader of the League of the South. In December 2014 Peroutka was elected to the county council of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The League Of The South is an SPLC-certified racist hate group.

RELATED: Michael Hill and other League Of The South members participated in the comments thread of my February post about the anti-gay marriage rally in Alabama.

Foundation For Moral Law To SCOTUS: Say No To Same-Sex Marriage Because The Bible Says To Kill Homosexuals

The Foundation For Moral Law, which was founded by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, has filed a Supreme Court amicus brief which declares, among other reasons, that the bible says homosexuals must be put to death and therefore same-sex marriage must be stopped. An excerpt:

The law of the Old Testament enforced this distinction between the sexes by stating that “if a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 (KJV). At creation, therefore, the sexes were established as “male and female” and “[f]or this reason,” marriage was defined at its inception as a union between a man and his wife. Genesis 2:18-25. Only the male-female marriage is inherent in the same created order that gives us our legal equality before the law, as recognized in the Declaration of Independence. The Bible has been considered the authoritative source of morality and worldview for Western civilizations for nearly two millennia (three millennia for the Tanakh or Old Testament), including the time period in which the institutions of American law and government were established. The concept of being “created equal” cannot be properly understood without a recognition of “the laws of nature and of nature’s God” upon which the concept of equality depends.

Note that they leave off the "they shall surely be put to death" portion of that Leviticus quote. The brief goes on to cite the British death penalty for sodomy under laws adopted in 1533 during the reign of Henry VIII. The FML brief also gleefully cites the infamous Paul Cameron study which declared that gay men have shortened lifespans. Cameron's result came by averaging the ages of men listed in AIDS obituaries, which is like averaging the ages of children killed in car accidents and concluding that the average American child dies by the third grade.

The Foundation For Moral Law has been headed by Roy Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, since he returned to the Alabama Supreme Court. Serial arrestee Caleb Moore, their son, is also an employee. See the full brief at Equality Case Files.

TEXAS: Bill To Ban Same-Sex Marriage Sees Resistance From House Committee

Late last night a committee of the Texas House took public comments about  Rep Cecil Bell's bill that would forbid county clerks from issuing any marriage licenses, putting that duty in the sole hands of the secretary of state. The bill further bans the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses by any state employee, no matter how the Supreme Court might rule. As those of you here witnessed via the live-stream, there were some beautiful, moving testimonies from the parents of gay children as well as the usual illogical bleating from representatives of hate groups.

Members of the committee grilled Bell at some length about the financial aspects of the bill, which would cost the state an estimated $1.6M in the first year and $1M annually thereafter. Via the Texas Tribune:

The bill’s pricey fiscal note, prepared by the Legislative Budget Board, includes salaries for 18 full-time employees who would be required to issue marriage licenses. Texas counties issued 185,510 marriage license applications and declarations of informal marriage in 2013. No vote on the bill was taken, and Bell told the committee he intended to present a revised version that will address the fiscal impact. Geren said he would also like Bell to address the local impact on individual counties. "The fiscal note says there's no local impact. My [county clerk] disagrees with that, and I think the testimony here shows several clerks disagree with that," Geren told Bell. "I think there is a local impact in the millions of dollars, and I don't know how we address that, but I hope that you will in the substitute that you're working on. Turner seemed less interested in considering Bell’s bill substitute, saying the measure would create “chaos and confusion.” When Bell reiterated he would present a bill substitute, Turner responded, “I don’t care how much lipstick you put on it.”

Bell has introduced three other anti-gay bills and those have not yet been heard. Only four Democrats sit on the 12-member House State Affairs Committee. Same-sex marriage is already banned by Texas statute and by the state constitution, so Bell's action represents a triple ban.

Roy Moore: I Hope My Battle Against Same-Sex Marriage Doesn't Kill Me

"William Barret Travis from Conecuh County, Alabama, came to draw a line in the sand at the Alamo. He took a stand in the face of an enemy that was far more numerous, but he knew that he had to make a statement for the people of Texas and that he would give his life. I hope I don’t give my life, but I’m going to tell you this is a very serious matter. There’s today another threat not only in Texas and Alabama, but across our country where state and federal court judges have overruled constitutional amendments passed by the people of those states, and people have just sat by and watched it out of fear of the federal government. But nothing in the Constitution of the United States, nothing in the laws or precedence of the federal courts give federal courts any authority over domestic policy of family and marriage in the state of Texas, in the state of Alabama, or anywhere else." - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, speaking at yesterday's hate rally in Texas. The video of his speech can be viewed in my post from earlier today.