Antigay Venom Spewed at Rally for Alabama's Suspended Chief Justice

After Alabama's homophobic Supreme Court chief justice was suspended from his position for telling judges to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses -- six months after the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality nationwide -- hundreds gathered in Montgomery to urge his reinstatement.

Prayers and speeches for high court justice Roy Moore were held at the state judicial building on Saturday, though Moore was nowhere to be found. His wife, Kayla, told reporters that her husband didn't want the event to be about him.

The crowd and speakers railed against same-sex marriage, as well as President Obama's directive that transgender students be allowed to use the restrooms of their choice in public shools.

"I ask you God to stand against this militant homosexual movement that's invading our land," local pastor Rusty Johnson said at the rally.

Chief Justice Moore is a proud religious zealot, who was previously removed from his position in 2003 after refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state judicial building. He's long fought against LGBT rights, especially same-sex marriage (though he recently said trans people have a "mental disorder" ).

Even after last year's Obergefell decision, Moore did everything in his power to stop same-sex couples from marrying in Alabama. After he sent a memo to the state's probate judges informing them they could disregard the Obergefell ruling because he believed it didn't apply to Alabama, the Judicial Inquiry Commission this month charged Moore with violating canons of judicial ethics; he was immediately removed from the bench without pay.

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Moore's lawyer is Mat Staver, the legal leader of the Liberty Counsel. The rightwing organization has led a litigious war against LGBT rights for decades. Staver said he's filed a response to the commission's charges and expects a hearing to be held this summer.