Alabama demacratic party candidates 2016 who are for gay marriage

LGBTQ advocates are hailing the surprise result of the special Senate election in Alabama, where Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moorea conservative firebrand who has said homosexuality should be illegal. Jones, a year-old former prosecutor, bested Moore in a deep red state that has not elected a Democrat since In last year's presidential contest, Donald Trump won the state by 28 points.

Jones, who prosecuted two members of the Ku Klux Klan for bombing a church in Birmingham inran in part on a platform of criminal justice and civil rights. In a September editorial in the Huffington Post, he wrote about the resurgence of hate-motivated violence as the context for his campaign.

Moore, who had recently been accused by several women of sexual misconduct when they were underage, had been roundly criticized by activists for his history of hostility toward the LGBTQ community. Inwhen he was chief justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court, Moore wrote a concurring opinion in a child-custody case involving a lesbian mother.

The court ruled in favor of the father on largely procedural grounds, but Moore took the ruling as an opportunity to weigh in on same-sex parenting.

'Hi, Felicia!': This married lesbian mom wants to turn deep-red Alabama seat blue

Moore wrote that lesbian and gay parents were ''presumptively unfit to have custody of minor children under the established laws of this state. Texas, a landmark case that struck down the state's sodomy law. Moore then reiterated this stance inin a video interview that was posted to YouTube.

In Sept. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. With 99 percent of the vote in on Wednesday morning, Jones was leading percent, orvotes tovotes — a margin of more than 20, For example, Haider-Markel said we could see more "pushback on judicial nominees who seem ready to roll back some of the gains on LGBTQ rights.

Haider-Markel also suggested the defeat of anti-LGBTQ candidates, like Moore, might spark reconsideration of hate-crime and anti-discrimination legislation at the state and local level. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

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