Alabama Chief Justice Moore fails as a civil rights fighter

Of all the asinine comments Justice Roy Moore and his followers have made in defense of displaying the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama Statehouse, the one that tops the list is their contention that this battle is similar to the one waged by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.
Such a comparison should not come as a great surprise. Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, isn't about to let the facts get in the way of his demagoguery.
To set the record straight: King and his civil rights movement fought to have the law of the land applied equally to all people, regardless of race, color or creed; Justice Moore and his Confederate flag-waving minions are defying the law. Invoking King's name, on the 40th anniversary of the civil rights march on Washington and the Baptist preacher's "I Have a Dream" speech, was a pathetic attempt by these religious zealots to gain credibility.
They failed.
Proper ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court was right in refusing to stay lower federal court orders directing the removal of the 5,300-pound stone representation of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda. And the eight associate justices of the Alabama Supreme Court demonstrated their respect for law by overruling the chief justice, who contended that he was not bound by the U.S. Constitution's ban on government promotion of a religious doctrine.
Finally, a state judicial ethics panel stepped in to stop Justice Moore from making a further mockery of his position as the state's highest-ranking judge by suspending him with pay for disobeying the order from U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson to move the monument.
If there is a parallel between what is taking place in Montgomery today and what occurred during those bloody days of the civil rights movement, it has to do with the fact that some people in Alabama -- and those from other states who have joined Justice Moore in his ridiculous endeavor -- are determined to halt this nation's drive toward racial and religious equality.
This isn't just about an individual who wears the label "Ten Commandments Judge" as a badge of honor.
Several years ago, Justice Moore fought to display a wooden plaque of the commandments on his courtroom wall in Etowah County, Ala., and then declared that he didn't care what any federal court said. Such arrogance should have made him a political pariah, but not in Alabama. He was elected chief justice of the state Supreme Court in 2000.
A year later, in the middle of the night, and without the knowledge of his colleagues on the bench, Justice Moore directed the installation of the granite sculpture. Thus began the legal battle. But despite his latest setback, the chief justice has vowed to keep fighting. It's time for the U.S. Supreme Court to be heard on this important constitutional issue.