--- description: Is Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court to the gay marriage movement what Governor George Wallace was to the Civil Rights Movement? title: Roy Moore and George Wallace: Alabama Same-Sex Marriage Comparison image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfda1316a602916f8/69877eae0b72e363716dd9f4/wallace.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Civil Rights](/tag/civil-rights/) ## Civil Rights Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Marriage Equality in Alabama Is Not Like the Civil Rights Movement  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 11, 2015 5:05 PM CUT  Alabama's governor George Wallace (L) faces General Henry Graham, in Tuscaloosa, on June 12, 1963, at the University of Alabama Alabama's governor George Wallace (L) faces General Henry Graham, in Tuscaloosa, on June 12, 1963, at the University of AlabamaOFF / AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 11, 2015 5:05 PM CUT Here’s an SAT-level analogy question: Is Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court to the marriage equality movement what Alabama Governor George Wallace was to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s? The comparison is an easy one to make, and [numerous](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/roy-moore-marriage-equality%5Fn%5F6645056.html "undefined") [outlets](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/09/why-roy-moores-gay-marriage-gambit-isnt-just-alabama-being-alabama/ "undefined") drew the connection on Monday, in the aftermath of Moore’s attempt to halt same-sex marriages in his state. Facing integration of the University of Alabama in 1963, which had been mandated years earlier by _Brown v. Board of Education_, Wallace tried to [block](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,894562,00.html "undefined") the change and was met by National Guard troops. This week, Moore defied a federal District Court ruling by ordering local probate judges not to license same-sex marriages, a bold challenge to the established principle of federal supremacy over state courts. In short, both Wallace and Moore relied on states’ rights claims to defy the federal government’s demand for social change. Still, while some may see Moore’s last stand as a symbolic stand like Wallace’s, historians say the difference in context suggests that Moore is more likely to disappear with a whimper than a bang. Wallace was a martyr for a population heavily invested in the status quo. Moore is a martyr for a population resigned to change. “Wallace was riding the segregation wave at its height,” says Dan Carter, author of George Wallace biography _The Politics of Rage_. “The fundamental difference is that accepting gays and lesbians and their rights is not nearly as painful. I think the gay issue, even in the deep South, in the most conservative areas, it’s kind of a resigned acceptance.” An [analysis](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/upshot/alabama-where-same-sex-marriage-remains-deeply-unpopular.html?abt=0002&abg=0 "undefined") of demographic and voting data by the New York _Times_ suggests that two-thirds of state residents are likely opposed to the unions. But opposition today is not nearly as strong as white southerners’ opposition to civil rights for black Americans was in 1963, Carter says, pointing to Southern newspaper coverage. In the 1960s, few Alabama newspapers would dare publish anything sympathetic to civil rights, according to Carter. On Monday, when same-sex marriages began, the state’s largest [newspaper](http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/alabama%5Fmarriage%5Fequality%5Fachi.html "undefined") said it was an “extraordinary day.” And, though a conflict between the state and federal governments persists — probate judges in some Alabama counties aren’t issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing Moore’s guidance — it remains unclear how the federal government will respond. At this point, it seems unlikely that such a response would mirror what happened in the 1960s. “Bobby Kennedy was willing to bring in federal marshals, willing to nationalize the National Guard in states,” says University of Alabama history professor Glenn Feldman, referring to the then-Attorney General’s response to Wallace in the 1960s. “I’m not sure if the federal government today has the political backbone or will to make people respect it.” Whether or not the White House ultimately cracks down on wayward Alabama judges, it’s hard to imagine that the situation would escalate as it did in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy sent in the National Guard to force integration. That’s because, in all likelihood, such measures would probably be unnecessary.Some of the judges under Moore’s purview ignored his order, and others said they’re waiting for clarification. Furthermore, Moore only has authority over the state’s judicial employees, not the state troopers and others whom Wallace used to fight integration. Today, conservative Alabama Governor Robert Bentley seems sympathetic to Moore and hasn’t tried to restrict him. (He’s said he doesn’t want to “further complicate this issue.”) But he also seems likely to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. “The issue of same sex marriage will be finally decided by the U.S. Supreme Court later this year,” he said in a [statement](http://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2015/02/governor-bentley-issues-statement-issuance-sex-marriage-licenses/ "undefined"). “I have great respect for the legal process, and the protections that the law provides for our people.” For his part, President Obama — who has addressed the comparison to Wallace — also seems to believe that the courts can take care of this issue on their own, without the kind of intervention that was necessitated five decades ago. “I think that the courts at the federal level will have something to say to him,” he told [BuzzFeed News](http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/obama-welcomes-supreme-court-move-to-end-patchwork-marriage#.bc12EMVq2B "undefined") about Roy Moore this week. So, the states’-rights justifications for Wallace and Moore may be the same, but historical distinctions mean the resolution to Moore’s defiance is likely to be far less dramatic than Wallace’s was. There is one more difference between them, however, and it suggests that such a resolution may not be the end of Moore’s story: Moore may not be ready to give up, even when moving on makes political sense. Wallace’s opposition to integration was driven by a political desire to win over his constituents, Feldman and Carter note, so he changed his views when it was no longer advantageous for him to oppose civil rights. Looking at Moore, however, they see someone whose deeply-held religious beliefs may lead him to push his authority further, even as the opinions of those around him evolve. “He actually believes this stuff,” says Feldman. “He actually believes in his heart of hearts that the federal government is not a position to tell states what to do.” ### Silent No More: Early Days in the Fight for Gay Rights  Caption from LIFE In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, militants this year designated the last week in June as Gay Liberation Week and celebrated with a candlelight parade. The parade involved 300 male and female homosexuals, who marched without incident two miles from Gay Activists headquarters to a park near City Hall. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE When a bill guaranteeing equal job opportunities for homosexuals stalled in New York City Council last spring, militants demonstrated at City Hall. With fists raised, they shout a football style "Gay Power" cheer at police blocking the building. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE A homosexual activist steps between a pair of police horses to be interviewed during a New York demonstration. Militants often charge police brutality and welcome arrest for the sake of publicity. They also encourage press coverage of their protest actions. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, California, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE Collared by a patrolman after he deliberately crossed police barricades at New York's City Hall, Gay Activists Alliance President Jim Owles submits to arrest. Members of his organization were protesting City Council reluctance to debate a fair employment bill for homosexuals. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay Pride, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay Activists Alliance, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights rally, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights event, 1971. 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