Approximately 400 people gathered at Alabama's state capitol on Saturday in separate simultaneous rallies both supporting and condemning state supreme court chief justice Roy Moore, who called homosexuality "an inherent evil" in a March court ruling denying a lesbian mother custody of her children. Christian groups hailed Moore as a hero who dares to stand behind his beliefs, while other religious groups and gay rights groups derided him as a tyrant who abuses the power of law.

The events were peaceful except for a few shouting matches. The only time the groups spoke in unison was during the Pledge of Allegiance, but that too caused disagreement. Moore's supporters placed emphasis on "One nation under God," while his opponents stressed "With liberty and justice for all."

Moore was elected chief justice after waging a court fight against the American Civil Liberties Union to keep a Ten Commandments plaque in his courtroom in Gadsden, Ala., where Moore used to be a circuit judge. In August he placed a 2-1/2-ton stone monument of the Ten Commandments in the lobby of the Judicial Building in Montgomery. The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have sued Moore over the monument.

"We can't have anyone go out and single out a group of people--we don't want another Hitler," said Derrick Harrington, 20, of the Birmingham-based group Gay, Straight, and Lesbian Youth. "I don't think he needs to be using the Bible to do his job--he needs to use the law."

(May 13, Montgomery) Police kept about 400 protestors and counter protestors apart in Montgomery as feelings ran high about Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Moore is the conservative Christian jurist who called homosexuality an "inherent evil" in a court opinion denying a lesbian mother custody of her teenage children.

"We can't have anyone go out and single out a group of people - we don't want another Hitler," said Derrick Harrington, 20, of Birmingham Gay, Straight and Lesbian Youth.

"I don't think he needs to be using the Bible to do his job - he needs to use the law," Harrington said.

Pro-Moore protestors, calling their rally "We The People" hailed the judge as a hero.

"We are here to honour a modern-day hero," said Kelly McGinley, chairwoman of the rally and a radio talk show host from Mobile.

Moore's wife, Kayla, said her husband decides law based on the U.S. Constitution and the Ten Commandments, which he believes are the basis for the principles of the American legal system. Moore did not attend.