"We must act to oppose such tyranny!" Moore said in a Jan. 27 letter to Gov. Robert Bentley. "Our State Constitution and our morality are under attack by a federal court decision that has no basis in the Constitution of the United States. Nothing in the United States Constitution grants to the federal government the authority to desecrate the institution of marriage."

Critics say Moore does not have the authority to dictate how state officials will issue licenses but Moore's office sees it differently, saying that until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the matter, a district judge's opinion does not carry weight in Alabama.

"State courts are not bound by the opinions of lower federal courts," Moore wrote in a Feb. 3 letter to the association of probate court judges, according to Politico.