Wisconsin GOP Nominee For AG Would Defend Ban On Interracial Marriage

Brad Schimel, the current GOP nominee for Attorney General for Wisconsin, was asked on a public access TV interview if he would have defended the state's now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage.

Schmiel said not only would he have defended the anti-gay law, he would have defended a ban on interracial marriage.

Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

For months, Schimel has said he would have defended the state's ban on gay marriage in court because the attorney general is obligated to uphold state laws and provisions in the state constitution.

As he discussed his stance on that issue last month on an Oshkosh cable access program, he was asked if it would have been his obligation to defend a ban on interracial marriage if he had been an attorney general in a state with such a law 60 years ago. He sighed and said, "Yeah, it is." "It might be distasteful to me ...but I've got to stay consistent with that — as the state's lawyer, it's not my job to pick and choose."

Responding to the criticism, Schimel issued a statement Wednesday that said: "Love and the law are colorblind, as they should be. Many shameful, racist laws were changed over the course of time in this country by legislators, the courts and the people's direct votes. But if Susan Happ wants to make up new laws, or change old ones, she's running for the wrong job."