Gov. Robert Bentley was asked today if he is concerned about how Alabama's response to the federal court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage is affecting the state's image.

Bentley said he didn't necessarily agree with the parallels some make to the civil rights movement, when Alabama fought federal court decisions that led to racial integration of public schools, voting rights for blacks and other landmark changes.

Chief Justice Roy Moore has described court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage as "judicial tyranny." Some probate judges stopped issuing marriage licenses after Moore issued an order to prohibit licenses for same-sex couples.

Bentley also disagrees with the decisions legalizing gay marriage.

But the governor said he wanted to draw a distinction between now and the 1960s.

"I think it's important for the people across the country to realize that the governor of Alabama today is not the governor of Alabama 50 years ago," Bentley said.

"This is not necessarily a civil rights issue. But I know that people tend to try to equate those two. However, I don't want Alabama portrayed in a negative light because when it's portrayed in a negative light, it hurts me recruiting jobs into Alabama. And so I'm hurting families when I can't help people get a job in this state.

"So I want to do everything I can to make sure that the people across the country, the people across the world, realize that Alabama is a different state and that we respect the rule of law and that's what I'm going to do."