Justice Roy Moore, the chief of the Alabama Supreme Court, was suspended by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for allegedly hindering the acceptance of same-sex marriage across the state.

On Friday, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission charged Justice Moore with the violation of judicial ethics when he opposed gay marriage.

According to the commission, Moore obstinately opposed same-sex marriage in Alabama though the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal judge in Mobile deemed it legal in the state last year. Moore instructed other judges to ignore the rulings and decline to issue marriage licenses to LGBT couples.

The commission received a complaint against Moore from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The judicial group decided that the case was serious enough to be forwarded to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which suspended the justice.

Justice Moore’s crusade against same-sex marriage began early last year when he told a local newspaper that the state’s power over marriage stem’s from God’s authority, so the concept of marriage cannot be redefined through state and federal orders.

In March 2015, the Alabama Supreme Court blocked all marriages as Justice Moore asked judges to refuse to issue marriage licenses. Three months later, Justice Moore argued that he and his colleagues as public officials are merely ministers of God with the scope of punishing the wicked and shielding the righteous.

“You cannot serve two masters: you must pick — God or Satan,” he added.

Yet, the man’s bold statements were not enough to get him suspended. This January’s move, however, was. Five months ago, he issued an order that defied the law and tried to halt the issuance of licenses to LGBT couples across the Yellowhammer State.

In a four-page order, he used his authority to reinforce his previous order that barred all probate judges from producing licenses to same-sex couples. Citing the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, he also reminded judges that they are ministers of God and they have a ‘ministerial duty’ to oppose licensing gay marriages across their state.

Moore argued that the gay-marriage-legalizing Obergefell ruling was issued by the Supreme Court in a different federal circuit which doesn’t include Alabama.

But the SPLC was irked by Justice Moore’s religious beliefs and filed a complaint with the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission against him. As a result the commission, which has a grand jury status, removed him from office. If no settlement is reached, Justice Moore risks to be tried before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.

Image Source: Wikimedia