VIRGINIA: AG Mark Herring Files Brief In Support Of Gay Marriage Plaintiffs

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring today filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of AFER's marriage equality lawsuit. Herring's brief argues that heightened scrutiny is applicable in the suit. Money quote below:

Virginia’s same-sex-marriage ban violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the ban substantially interferes with the right to marry, it is subject to strict scrutiny. The ban also discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, triggering at least heightened scrutiny. All of the considerations apply here for the judiciary to be suspicious of laws that discriminate against gay people. And the Clerks’ claim that the ban treats men and women equally is like saying that interracial-marriage bans treat blacks and white equally, an argument rejected by the Supreme Court.

Herring's refusal to defend Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage was immediately met with calls for his removal by anti-gay and Christian groups. Dig into the above-linked brief and pull out your favorite parts for fellow readers. (Via Equality Case Files)