Elections do make a difference. From Raw Story:
You'll remember that Virginia's previous AG, Ken Cuccinelli, was not only ready to defend the marriage ban to the death, but repeatedly tried to reinstate Virginia's sodomy law, which was found unconstitutional.
This is the case that Ted Olson and David Boies have joined for AFER.
As might be expected, the usual suspects are up in arms. Cue the misrepresentations:
From Brian Brown:
In the real world, Herring swore to uphold both the Virginia and federal constitutions. Both promise equal treatment under the law, and the federal Constitution supercedes anything in any state constitution. And no, refusing to defend an unconstitutional law is not an impeachable offense.
And from Tony Perkins:
And once again, in the real world, Herring is enforcing the law. He's just not defending it in court, which he is not required to do.
And just for fun, in case you, like I, don't watch Fox News, here's what passes for "analysis" in this issue:
And here's the result of a real poll on the question.
And that's just from the states that do not have marriage equality. Yet.
Virginia’s newly-elected Attorney General, Mark R. Herring, announced that will not defend the state’s ban on marriage equality, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
“The Supreme Court is clear: The United States Constitution is the law of the land, the supreme law of the land,” Herring said at a press conference. “I believe the freedom to marry is a fundamental right, and I intend to ensure that Virginia is on the right side of history and the right side of the law.”
Herring signaled the new direction for the attorney general’s office in a brief supporting the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the law, which stated that his office found that it ran afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment.
You'll remember that Virginia's previous AG, Ken Cuccinelli, was not only ready to defend the marriage ban to the death, but repeatedly tried to reinstate Virginia's sodomy law, which was found unconstitutional.
This is the case that Ted Olson and David Boies have joined for AFER.
As might be expected, the usual suspects are up in arms. Cue the misrepresentations:
From Brian Brown:
The Attorney General swore an oath that he would 'support...the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia' and faithfully discharge his duties, which include defending duly enacted laws like the state's marriage amendment. Yet now Attorney General Herring is participating in a lawsuit against the very people he is sworn to represent, the citizens of Virginia who preserved marriage in their constitution. This malfeasance and neglect of duty is not only a disgrace, it's an impeachable offense under the constitution. Section 17 of the Virginia state constitution provides that the Attorney General may be impeached for 'malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor.'
In the real world, Herring swore to uphold both the Virginia and federal constitutions. Both promise equal treatment under the law, and the federal Constitution supercedes anything in any state constitution. And no, refusing to defend an unconstitutional law is not an impeachable offense.
And from Tony Perkins:
This week, the new attorney general announced his intentions to fight the constitutional amendment -- by not enforcing it. Of course, the irony is, if there weren't laws to defend, there'd be no reason to have an attorney general in the first place! If Mark Herring wanted to write legislation, he should have stayed in the state Senate. Instead, he's decided not only to ignore his responsibilities but trample on the people who gave them to him.
And once again, in the real world, Herring is enforcing the law. He's just not defending it in court, which he is not required to do.
And just for fun, in case you, like I, don't watch Fox News, here's what passes for "analysis" in this issue:
And here's the result of a real poll on the question.
And that's just from the states that do not have marriage equality. Yet.
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