Christians in America are losing their jobs because of their faith, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore said at the Colorado Capitol Friday.

And he should know.

Last September Moore was benched from the court after telling county clerks in Alabama to continue to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision to the contrary.

Moore was re-elected in 2012, after he was removed from the state Supreme Court in 2003 for refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.

On the west steps of the Colorado statehouse, Moore faced the Rocky Mountains and commented on the snowy peaks in the distance.

“I know I’m a long way from Alabama,” Moore said, as the Dixie twang trailed off for the laugh line. “But I’ve come a long way to look at a beautiful crowd.”

Ah, thanks.

He continued, “A crowd of homeschoolers, that’s what we need in our country today.”

He was the star attraction of Home School Day at the Capitol and the keynote speaker at a Friday night fundraiser to help pay for his legal defense. Moore told them that Christians in America are losing their rights to acknowledge God.

“Christians are losing their jobs, they’re being incarcerated, they’re being put under financial stress, because they won’t buy the sin that the nation pushes on them,” Moore said.

In the 15-minute address, he never took a direct run at the gay marriage issue.

Moore made brief mention of losing his seat on the high court over the Ten Commandments, and that he faces expulsion a second time over same-sex marriages.

“Because I knew the government didn’t have a right to take away our acknowledgement of God,” he said of the display removed from the judicial building 14 years ago. “Now I’m under a suspension, because I stood legally for the right of (a) man and woman to be married and not same-sex marriages dictated by the United States Supreme Court.”

A special court made up of retired judges was scheduled to begin hearing arguments to reinstate Moore on April 26, but last month his legal team asked the court consider only written arguments. Moore’s term is set to expire in 2018, and because of his age, 70, he is barred by Alabama law from seeking another term.

Except for one brief protester in a white suit shouting Moore’s words back at the crowd and dancing around, before he was escorted away, the 15-minute speech was without event.

One Colorado, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, cited the law in response to the chief justice’s visit.

“We are a nation of laws,” said Laura “Pinky” Reinsch, One Colorado’s political director. “The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and the Supreme Court has made clear what the Constitution commands. Although a handful of anti-LGBTQ opponents continue to drag their feet, the freedom to marry is now a right all loving couples have.

“Contrary to our opposition’s scary predictions, the last two years have proven that when same-sex couples share in the freedom to marry, families are helped and no one is hurt.”

As Moore spoke, hundreds of supporters of the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, along with their children, formed a crescent around the Capitol steps and out onto the law.

The Pikes Peak Home School Band played “God Bless America,” and the Christian home-schoolers applauded their legislative allies.

“They love the Lord, but they work in a hostile environment,” said Carolyn Martin, legislative liaison for Christian Home Educators of Colorado.

State Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, a recently announced candidate for the U.S. House, was recognized as the product of home-schooling. He was applauded along with his own home-schooled children. Hill is chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, is one of the organization’s founding board members. He said Friday was his 24th Capitol Home School Day, including 15 as a legislator.

Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, a passionate advocate for school choice, joined Lundberg on stage.

“I think it’s extremely important that we preserve choice,” Neville said, after he scolded me for pressing him on political realities (and that he’s seeking to sue taxpayers) at a press conference  for his sanctuary city bill. “Education is a market right now that doesn’t work as well as it should, because government basically chooses winners and losers in education.

“The problems we run into in education and health care is where the government doesn’t allow a market that allows people to make choices on what is best for them, particularly parents for their children, so I’d love to see the money follow the student … and let parents decide where their children fit best.”