Virginia's Attorney General files brief in support of marriage equality lawsuit

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of AFER's marriage equality lawsuit.

One of the key tenets of Herring's brief focuses on the fact that "heightened scrutiny" should be applied in deciding the case.  From his brief:

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.

Like many AG's across the country, Herring has refused to defend the law on the basis that he feels it is unconstitutional.

(via JMG)