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JUDGE MOORE RALLIES SUPPORTERS IN MD.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, speaking to a packed auditorium at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn October 3, explained his reasons for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's judicial building.

"This is not about a monument," said Moore. "It's about what Federal District Judge Myron Thompson said it's about: It's about whether a state can acknowledge God."

Judge Moore maintained that the granite monument is an acknowledgement of God in accordance with the Alabama state constitution, and does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which merely states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

"The federal courts violate the Tenth Amendment when they come into the state and tell us we can't acknowledge God," he said.

"When judges take the law into their own hands and tell you what you can think and do regarding religion, they become tyrants."

Quoting liberally from the Bible and the writings of the Founding Fathers, Moore said that since its founding over 200 years ago, America has traveled a path away from its acknowledgement of God.

Judge Moore has been in the eye of a storm over the display of the Ten Commandments monument ever since he had it installed in 2001.

A U.S. district court under Judge Myron Thompson in November 2002 ordered the removal of the monument by August 20.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Thompson's ruling. The monument was removed and placed in storage on August 27.

Judge Moore petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in September, appealing the 11th Circuit Court's ruling. On November 3 the Supreme Court refused his appeal without comment.

Responding to the high court's refusal to hear his appeal, Moore said, "The fight is not over."

He vowed to go state to state to educate Americans about their religious rights.

Most recently, the Alabama Judiciary Inquiry Commission on November 13 removed Moore from the state Supreme Court, charging that by refusing to remove the monument, he had placed himself above the law.

Moore said he would consult with his attorneys to try to overturn the commission's decision.

In his talk at the October 3 rally, sponsored by the Institute on the Constitution, Judge Moore urged a warmly receptive crowd of over 900 to "open your eyes, unstop your ears, and start learning about the Constitution.

"Haven't we uttered words of righteous wrath, saying, 'They can't do this!'--but still we follow fables like 'the separation of church and state,' even though those words are found nowhere in the Constitution," he said.

Other speakers at the rally affirmed Judge Moore's assertions.

"This is not about religion," said Del. Don Dwyer (R, Anne Arundel Co.), the director of the Institute on the Constitution; "this is about jurisdictional authority. The federal courts have no jurisdiction over this matter.

"If we sit quietly by while this right is taken, it will reverberate across the country."

"Contrary to popular opinion, Roy Moore has neither activated nor engaged in civil disobedience," said Howard Phillips, chairman of the Conservative Caucus; "instead, he has dared to defend his oath of office.

"Judge Moore has upheld the rule of law against those who wrongly define what the rule of law is. Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution spells out the ways that the Constitution may be amended: judicial opinions are not among those ways."

Noting that Alabama's state motto is "We dare defend our rights," Mr. Phillips said that Moore had courageously placed at risk his job and reputation to do just that.

"Let us not fail to seize the moment--to support Judge Moore and to advance his cause, which is, without doubt, our cause," he said.

State Sen. Alex Mooney (R, Frederick Co.), the opening speaker at the rally, likened Judge Moore's battle in Alabama to an ongoing dispute over the display of the Ten Commandments in a public park in the city of Frederick.

When the American Civil Liberties Union sued to have the display removed, the city, hoping to resolve the issue, gave the land back to its previous owner, the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

But the Americans United for Separation of Church and State then sued.

"We are still fighting them," said Mooney. "Moore's fight in Alabama will help us with our fight in Frederick."  Senator Mooney and Delegate Dwyer plan to introduce a joint resolution in the General Assembly asking Congress to pass legislation restricting the federal courts' power to rule on religious issues, including government displays of the Ten Commandments.