Wolfstrike
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Political positions
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (November 2017)
According to Business Insider, Moore has a "history of far-right and conspiracy-aligned positions" on issues such as homosexuality, race, Islam, and terrorism.[140] According to CNN, Moore's "virulent anti-gay, right-wing views made him a national figure".[9] According to The New York Times, Moore "is a staunch evangelical Christian, and his often-inflammatory political beliefs are informed by his strongly held religious views".[141] Moore has been considered a "rising star of the alt-right movement" by The Jerusalem Post and an "alt-right hero" by The Washington Post.[142][143]
Abortion
Moore is strongly anti-abortion. In a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, he said that laws should protect life "from the moment of conception".[144]
American exceptionalism
Moore has been skeptical of modern American exceptionalism, saying that "America promotes a lot of bad things." Moore argued that the United States is an "Evil Empire" comparable to the Soviet Union, saying that America is "the focus of evil in the modern world". When asked for a clarification, Moore gave an example of America culturally exporting acceptance of homosexuality around the world.[145][146]
Alabama's Constitution
Moore was a strong opponent of a proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution in 2004. Known as Amendment 2, the proposed legislation would have removed wording from the state constitution that referred to poll taxes and required separate schools for "white and colored children", a practice already outlawed due to civil rights-era legislation during the Civil Rights Movement. Moore and other opponents of the measure argued that the amendment's wording would have allowed federal judges to force the state to fund public school improvements with increased taxes. Voters in Alabama narrowly defeated the proposed amendment, with a margin of 1,850 votes out of 1.38 million cast. Moore's opposition has been cited as a reason for the failure of the referendum.[147][148][149][150]
Birther conspiracy theory
Moore was a leading voice in the anti-Obama birther movement, which promoted the debunked conspiracy theory that Obama is not a U.S. citizen.[16] Moore does not believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen.[151] He has repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory since 2008 and through at least December 2016. Asked if he still questioned Obama's citizenship in August 2017, the Moore campaign declined to answer questions from the media.[151][152] As a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, he opined that Alabama's Secretary of State should "investigate the qualifications of those candidates who appeared on the 2012 general-election ballot".[151]
Moore has also suggested, without providing any evidence, that former President Obama is secretly a Muslim.[17]
Church and state
In his debut column for WND.com, Moore argued that God is the "sovereign source of our law", echoing his language and reasoning used in the failed Constitution Restoration Act.[153] Because of his focus on religion in politics, he has earned the nickname of 'Ayatollah of Alabama' among his critics.[10]
In a January 2014 speech in Mississippi, Moore said that the Framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Founding Fathers attributed our rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as coming from a specific God, stating "Buddha didn't create us, Mohammed didn't create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures."[154] The speech prompted criticism because it appeared to suggest that non-Christians did not enjoy religious protections under the First Amendment. In a subsequent interview, Moore said that the First Amendment protects all faiths: "It applies to the rights God gave us to be free in our modes of thinking, and as far as religious liberty to all people, regardless of what they believe".[155]
Civil rights
In a November 2017 speech at a revival in Jackson, Roy Moore stated that "they started to created new rights in 1965, and today we've got a problem" in an apparent reference to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[156]
Confederacy
Neo-Confederate groups held events at the Foundation for Moral Law, a foundation led by Moore, in 2009 and 2010.[157] The events "promoted a history of the Civil War sympathetic to the Confederate cause, in which the conflict is presented as one fought over the federal government violating the South's sovereignty as opposed to one fought chiefly over the preservation of slavery".[157]
The foundation's then-executive director, Rich Hobson, now Moore's campaign manager, claimed in 2010 that Moore was unaware of these events and that it was Hobson who approved them.[157] However, the organizer of the events thanked Moore for allowing them to hold the events in his building.[157]
Education
In 2007, Moore opposed preschool, claiming that attendees are "much more likely to learn a liberal social and political philosophy" and that state involvement in early childhood education is characteristic of totalitarianism.[158]
Evolution
Moore rejects the theory of evolution, saying "There is no such thing as evolution. That we came from a snake? No, I don’t believe that."[141] In 2010, Moore ran attack ads in the Republican gubernatorial primary against his opponent Bradley Byrne, questioning Byrne's faith on the grounds that he had supported the teaching evolution while on a local school board. (In response, Byrne ran ads saying he was a creationist).[159][160]https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/15/16151182/alabama-senate-roy-moore
Free speech
In an October 2017 interview with Time, Moore said regarding NFL players who protested police violence by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem: "It's against the law, you know that? It was a act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That's the law."[161][162][163] This assertion is incorrect assuming Moore was calling for enforcement; for civilians, the United States Flag Code, which outlines proper conduct when the national anthem is played, is an advisory description of proper etiquette, not an enforceable law.[164]
Trade
When asked whether he approved of free trade, Moore stated that he supported protectionism.[165] Moore has suggested pulling out of various free trade agreements, saying that he would rescind "unfair free trade agreements which have severely damaged our economy".[166]
Immigration
In July 2017, Moore stated that he was unfamiliar with what the Dreamer program was.[141] Later, in September 2017, Moore criticized Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants temporary stay to unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.[141] In an interview with Breitbart News, Moore stated that he is supportive of the RAISE Act, along with supporting a significant and immediate reduction in legal immigration, arguing that immigrants hurt native-born Americans.[167][168]
LGBT rights
Moore has been described as holding "virulently anti-gay" beliefs.[140][9] Moore is supportive of laws to make homosexuality illegal, and has argued that same-sex parents are unfit to raise children, that openly gay individuals should not be allowed to serve in government, and that the legitimization of various forms of "sodomy" may cause suffering in the United States.[140][9][169] He believes that homosexuality goes against "the laws of nature" and stated it is comparable with bestiality.[170]
In 1996, while presiding over a divorce case, Moore ruled that a mother who had had a lesbian affair would lose custody of her children to the father and that she could not be allowed see her children unless she was supervised.[171] Moore wrote in his ruling, "The court strongly feels that the minor children will be detrimentally affected by the present lifestyle of [Mrs. Borden] who has engaged in a homosexual relationship during her marriage, forbidden both by the laws of the State of Alabama and the Laws of Nature."[171] The Court of Civil Appeals removed Moore from the case, a decision that was later affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court.[171]
In February 2002, as Alabama Chief Justice, Moore issued a controversial opinion that expressed his belief that the State should use its powers to punish "homosexual behavior". The case, D.H. v. H.H., was a custody dispute where a lesbian was petitioning for custody of her children, alleging abuse by her ex-husband. A circuit court in Alabama had ruled in favor of the father, but the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned that verdict 4–1, saying that substantial evidence existed of abusive behavior by the father.[172] In a concurring opinion in the case, Moore stated that a parent's homosexuality should be a deciding factor in determining which parent gets custody over children: "Homosexual behavior is a ground for divorce, an act of sexual misconduct punishable as a crime in Alabama, a crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one's ability to describe it. That is enough under the law to allow a court to consider such activity harmful to a child."[173]
In 2016, Moore was suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for instructing state probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in contravention of Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the U.S. Supreme Court determined that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.[174]
In 2017, Moore called for impeaching judges who have issued rulings supportive of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.[170] In November 2016, Moore argued that the Obergefell ruling was worse than the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling (which declared that African-Americans whether enslaved or free, were property and could not be American citizens).[175] The Dred Scott ruling is widely considered as the worst Supreme Court ruling.[176][177]
In November 2017, Moore said that transgender people "don't have rights".[136]
In August 2017, Moore suggested that the September 11 attacks were a punishment by God for Americans' declining religiosity.[178][140] Moore has also suggested that the Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 28 people (including 20 children), was "because we've forgotten the law of God".[179] Moore has also said that suffering in the United States may be because "we legitimize sodomy" and "legitimize abortion".[140] The Washington Post notes that "among the prices [Moore] says this country has paid for denying God’s supremacy: the high murder rate in Chicago, crime on the streets of Washington, child abuse, rape and sodomy."[170]
Opposition to Islam
Moore has called for banning Muslims from serving in Congress, described Islam as a "false religion" and made false claims about Sharia law in the United States.[140][9] When asked by a reporter where in the United States that Sharia law was being practiced, Moore said "Well, there's Sharia law, as I understand it, in Illinois, Indiana—up there. I don't know."[180][181] Asked if it was not an amazing claim for a Senate candidate to make, Moore said "Well, let me just put it this way—if they are, they are; if they're not, they're not."[180]
In 2006, Moore wrote that Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim to have been elected to the United States House of Representatives, should be barred from sitting in Congress because in his view, a Muslim could not honestly take the oath of office. Moore said that the Quran did not allow for religions other than Islam to exist, and added, "common sense alone dictates that in the midst of a war with Islamic terrorists we should not place someone in a position of great power who shares their doctrine."[182]
Russia and Vladimir Putin
Moore has strongly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that he is maybe "more akin to me than I know [myself]". When asked whether he believed whether Russia interfered in the 2016 United States elections, Moore stated "Everybody else thinks it's the Russians. I think it was the providential hand of God."[145
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (November 2017)
According to Business Insider, Moore has a "history of far-right and conspiracy-aligned positions" on issues such as homosexuality, race, Islam, and terrorism.[140] According to CNN, Moore's "virulent anti-gay, right-wing views made him a national figure".[9] According to The New York Times, Moore "is a staunch evangelical Christian, and his often-inflammatory political beliefs are informed by his strongly held religious views".[141] Moore has been considered a "rising star of the alt-right movement" by The Jerusalem Post and an "alt-right hero" by The Washington Post.[142][143]
Abortion
Moore is strongly anti-abortion. In a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, he said that laws should protect life "from the moment of conception".[144]
American exceptionalism
Moore has been skeptical of modern American exceptionalism, saying that "America promotes a lot of bad things." Moore argued that the United States is an "Evil Empire" comparable to the Soviet Union, saying that America is "the focus of evil in the modern world". When asked for a clarification, Moore gave an example of America culturally exporting acceptance of homosexuality around the world.[145][146]
Alabama's Constitution
Moore was a strong opponent of a proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution in 2004. Known as Amendment 2, the proposed legislation would have removed wording from the state constitution that referred to poll taxes and required separate schools for "white and colored children", a practice already outlawed due to civil rights-era legislation during the Civil Rights Movement. Moore and other opponents of the measure argued that the amendment's wording would have allowed federal judges to force the state to fund public school improvements with increased taxes. Voters in Alabama narrowly defeated the proposed amendment, with a margin of 1,850 votes out of 1.38 million cast. Moore's opposition has been cited as a reason for the failure of the referendum.[147][148][149][150]
Birther conspiracy theory
Moore was a leading voice in the anti-Obama birther movement, which promoted the debunked conspiracy theory that Obama is not a U.S. citizen.[16] Moore does not believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen.[151] He has repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory since 2008 and through at least December 2016. Asked if he still questioned Obama's citizenship in August 2017, the Moore campaign declined to answer questions from the media.[151][152] As a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, he opined that Alabama's Secretary of State should "investigate the qualifications of those candidates who appeared on the 2012 general-election ballot".[151]
Moore has also suggested, without providing any evidence, that former President Obama is secretly a Muslim.[17]
Church and state
In his debut column for WND.com, Moore argued that God is the "sovereign source of our law", echoing his language and reasoning used in the failed Constitution Restoration Act.[153] Because of his focus on religion in politics, he has earned the nickname of 'Ayatollah of Alabama' among his critics.[10]
In a January 2014 speech in Mississippi, Moore said that the Framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Founding Fathers attributed our rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as coming from a specific God, stating "Buddha didn't create us, Mohammed didn't create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures."[154] The speech prompted criticism because it appeared to suggest that non-Christians did not enjoy religious protections under the First Amendment. In a subsequent interview, Moore said that the First Amendment protects all faiths: "It applies to the rights God gave us to be free in our modes of thinking, and as far as religious liberty to all people, regardless of what they believe".[155]
Civil rights
In a November 2017 speech at a revival in Jackson, Roy Moore stated that "they started to created new rights in 1965, and today we've got a problem" in an apparent reference to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[156]
Confederacy
Neo-Confederate groups held events at the Foundation for Moral Law, a foundation led by Moore, in 2009 and 2010.[157] The events "promoted a history of the Civil War sympathetic to the Confederate cause, in which the conflict is presented as one fought over the federal government violating the South's sovereignty as opposed to one fought chiefly over the preservation of slavery".[157]
The foundation's then-executive director, Rich Hobson, now Moore's campaign manager, claimed in 2010 that Moore was unaware of these events and that it was Hobson who approved them.[157] However, the organizer of the events thanked Moore for allowing them to hold the events in his building.[157]
Education
In 2007, Moore opposed preschool, claiming that attendees are "much more likely to learn a liberal social and political philosophy" and that state involvement in early childhood education is characteristic of totalitarianism.[158]
Evolution
Moore rejects the theory of evolution, saying "There is no such thing as evolution. That we came from a snake? No, I don’t believe that."[141] In 2010, Moore ran attack ads in the Republican gubernatorial primary against his opponent Bradley Byrne, questioning Byrne's faith on the grounds that he had supported the teaching evolution while on a local school board. (In response, Byrne ran ads saying he was a creationist).[159][160]https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/15/16151182/alabama-senate-roy-moore
Free speech
In an October 2017 interview with Time, Moore said regarding NFL players who protested police violence by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem: "It's against the law, you know that? It was a act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That's the law."[161][162][163] This assertion is incorrect assuming Moore was calling for enforcement; for civilians, the United States Flag Code, which outlines proper conduct when the national anthem is played, is an advisory description of proper etiquette, not an enforceable law.[164]
Trade
When asked whether he approved of free trade, Moore stated that he supported protectionism.[165] Moore has suggested pulling out of various free trade agreements, saying that he would rescind "unfair free trade agreements which have severely damaged our economy".[166]
Immigration
In July 2017, Moore stated that he was unfamiliar with what the Dreamer program was.[141] Later, in September 2017, Moore criticized Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants temporary stay to unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.[141] In an interview with Breitbart News, Moore stated that he is supportive of the RAISE Act, along with supporting a significant and immediate reduction in legal immigration, arguing that immigrants hurt native-born Americans.[167][168]
LGBT rights
Moore has been described as holding "virulently anti-gay" beliefs.[140][9] Moore is supportive of laws to make homosexuality illegal, and has argued that same-sex parents are unfit to raise children, that openly gay individuals should not be allowed to serve in government, and that the legitimization of various forms of "sodomy" may cause suffering in the United States.[140][9][169] He believes that homosexuality goes against "the laws of nature" and stated it is comparable with bestiality.[170]
In 1996, while presiding over a divorce case, Moore ruled that a mother who had had a lesbian affair would lose custody of her children to the father and that she could not be allowed see her children unless she was supervised.[171] Moore wrote in his ruling, "The court strongly feels that the minor children will be detrimentally affected by the present lifestyle of [Mrs. Borden] who has engaged in a homosexual relationship during her marriage, forbidden both by the laws of the State of Alabama and the Laws of Nature."[171] The Court of Civil Appeals removed Moore from the case, a decision that was later affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court.[171]
In February 2002, as Alabama Chief Justice, Moore issued a controversial opinion that expressed his belief that the State should use its powers to punish "homosexual behavior". The case, D.H. v. H.H., was a custody dispute where a lesbian was petitioning for custody of her children, alleging abuse by her ex-husband. A circuit court in Alabama had ruled in favor of the father, but the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned that verdict 4–1, saying that substantial evidence existed of abusive behavior by the father.[172] In a concurring opinion in the case, Moore stated that a parent's homosexuality should be a deciding factor in determining which parent gets custody over children: "Homosexual behavior is a ground for divorce, an act of sexual misconduct punishable as a crime in Alabama, a crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one's ability to describe it. That is enough under the law to allow a court to consider such activity harmful to a child."[173]
In 2016, Moore was suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for instructing state probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in contravention of Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the U.S. Supreme Court determined that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.[174]
In 2017, Moore called for impeaching judges who have issued rulings supportive of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.[170] In November 2016, Moore argued that the Obergefell ruling was worse than the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling (which declared that African-Americans whether enslaved or free, were property and could not be American citizens).[175] The Dred Scott ruling is widely considered as the worst Supreme Court ruling.[176][177]
In November 2017, Moore said that transgender people "don't have rights".[136]
In August 2017, Moore suggested that the September 11 attacks were a punishment by God for Americans' declining religiosity.[178][140] Moore has also suggested that the Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 28 people (including 20 children), was "because we've forgotten the law of God".[179] Moore has also said that suffering in the United States may be because "we legitimize sodomy" and "legitimize abortion".[140] The Washington Post notes that "among the prices [Moore] says this country has paid for denying God’s supremacy: the high murder rate in Chicago, crime on the streets of Washington, child abuse, rape and sodomy."[170]
Opposition to Islam
Moore has called for banning Muslims from serving in Congress, described Islam as a "false religion" and made false claims about Sharia law in the United States.[140][9] When asked by a reporter where in the United States that Sharia law was being practiced, Moore said "Well, there's Sharia law, as I understand it, in Illinois, Indiana—up there. I don't know."[180][181] Asked if it was not an amazing claim for a Senate candidate to make, Moore said "Well, let me just put it this way—if they are, they are; if they're not, they're not."[180]
In 2006, Moore wrote that Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim to have been elected to the United States House of Representatives, should be barred from sitting in Congress because in his view, a Muslim could not honestly take the oath of office. Moore said that the Quran did not allow for religions other than Islam to exist, and added, "common sense alone dictates that in the midst of a war with Islamic terrorists we should not place someone in a position of great power who shares their doctrine."[182]
Russia and Vladimir Putin
Moore has strongly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that he is maybe "more akin to me than I know [myself]". When asked whether he believed whether Russia interfered in the 2016 United States elections, Moore stated "Everybody else thinks it's the Russians. I think it was the providential hand of God."[145
