 | |
| Formation | January 29, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-01-29)[2] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Roy Moore |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| 03-0502850[1] | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3)[1] |
| Headquarters | Montgomery, Alabama,United States |
| Coordinates | 32°22′39″N86°18′32″W / 32.377606°N 86.308826°W /32.377606; -86.308826 |
| Kayla Moore | |
| Roy Moore | |
| Revenue | $790,665[1] (2023) |
| Expenses | $672,719[1] (2023) |
| Employees | 6[1] (2023) |
| Website | www |
TheFoundation for Moral Law is asocially conservative,Christian right legal advocacy group[3][4] based inMontgomery, Alabama.[5]
The Foundation was established in 2003[2] byRepublican politicianRoy Moore, who was ousted asChief Justice of theSupreme Court of Alabama in 2003 for refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove aTen Commandments monument from the grounds of theAlabama Judicial Building. In 2013, Moore was again elected to theAlabama Supreme Court, but was suspended from the Court in 2016, and resigned in 2017, after ordering Alabama probate judges to ignore federal court decisions onsame-sex marriage.[6]
The Foundation for Moral Law was established in 2003[2][7] byRepublican politicianRoy Moore. Pastor Phillip Ellen became the first president of the Foundation for Moral Law in December 2002.[8] Randy Stafford acted as vice president at that time, and Mel C. Glenn Sr. was executive director.[8]
In November 2003, the board chose Rich Hobson as president of the Foundation for Moral Law, and Ellen became its vice president. Moore served as the president of the Foundation for Moral Law, and Hobson served as executive director.[8] In 2013, Moore's wife,Kayla Moore, became president of the Foundation for Moral Law.[6][9][10]
In 2005, theInternal Revenue Service (IRS) determined that the Foundation for Moral Law is a501(c)(3)tax-exempt organization.[6]
Also in 2005, the Foundation accepted a $1,000 contribution from aneo-Nazi organization founded byWillis Carto, a prominentHolocaust denier. The donation attracted attention during Moore's 2017 campaign for a Senate seat.[11][12][13]
Moore said that he did not draw a "regular salary" from the organization. In October 2017, however,The Washington Post reported that Moore had arranged an annual salary of $180,000 for himself from the foundation. From 2007 to 2012, he collected more than $1 million, an amount that far surpasses what the organization declared in its public tax filings. Furthermore,The Washington Post reported that Moore arranged the salary and that, in 2012 when the charity could not pay his full salary, Moore received a note promising that he would get the salary in back pay or a stake in the assets of the foundation. The foundation also paid for Moore's health-care benefits, travel expenses, and bodyguard, and the foundation's website has regularly promoted Moore's speaking arrangements and book. Furthermore, the foundation employed Moore's wife and at least two of Moore's children.The Washington Post also reported that there was considerable overlap between the charity and Moore's political activities, with previous top officials of the charity leading Moore's 2017 Senate campaign and with the charity using the same fundraising firm as Moore's campaigns.[14]
The IRS warned the foundation about discrepancies in its tax filings in 2013, saying that the issues "could jeopardize your exempt status". A number of charity and tax law experts have said that the foundation's activities "raised questions about compliance with IRS rules, including prohibitions on the use of a charity for the private benefit or enrichment of an individual".[14] Additional reporting byThe Washington Post that October found that the $498,000 that Moore was guaranteed in back pay was not declared to the IRS; tax experts say that it should have been and that Moore would have had to pay more than $100,000 in federal tax.[15]
As of August 2017, the Foundation for Moral Law had not filed aForm 990 for 2015 or 2016, as required by law.[16]
The Foundation for Moral Law advocates Moore'sChristian right andsocially conservative views through the filing ofamicus briefs in courts. The group isanti-abortion, opposed tosame-sex marriage, and supportive of public prayer.[6] In 2010, the Foundation for Moral Law allowed its offices to be used to host an "Alabama Secession Day Commemoration" event, celebrating Alabama's secession from theUnion in 1861. The event featured a speaker from theLeague of the South, a group that supportssecession of theSouth from United States and is classified by theSouthern Poverty Law Center as ahate group.[17]
In 2017, the Foundation for Moral Law publicly opposed theU.S. Air Force's nomination of then-Colonel Kristin Goodwin as commandant of cadets of theU.S. Air Force Academy because Goodwin is a married lesbian; in a letter, the Foundation's president, Kayla Moore, accused theUnited States Department of Defense of having a "disregard for the fundamental moral order established by God."[18]
In the caseGloucester County School Board v. G.G., the group filed an amicus brief in opposition totransgender rights.[19]
In 2017, the Foundation for Moral Law came out in support ofExecutive Order 13780, a travel ban issued by PresidentDonald Trump. The group said that it would back the executive order in theU.S. Supreme Court against constitutional challenges.[20]
