Va. House OKs measure to defend gay marriage ban

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Va. House OKs measure to defend gay marriage ban

By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 4, 2014

A day before a muscular legal assault on Virginia's gay marriage ban unfolds in a Norfolk courtroom, Republican lawmakers in Richmond were scrambling to find a way to defend the embattled law. ... On a largely party-line 65-32 vote, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates passed legislation Monday that would give the House, the state Senate or any individual member of the General Assembly permission to defend a state law in court if the governor and attorney general choose not to do so. ... The measure is aimed squarely at preserving Virginia's 2006 constitutional amendment that declared only a union between a man and a woman can be a valid marriage.
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{Newly elected Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring} plans to attend oral arguments in the case this morning in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, joining a legal team that includes nationally known attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies. Olson and Boies took on California's gay marriage ban in 2009, resulting in a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer that allowed same-sex marriages to resume in the nation's most populous state.
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The Republican initiative in the Virginia House is aimed at heading off that possibility. The measure (HB706) was authored by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, and Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William County. Marshall was a principal architect of the 2006 state constitutional amendment, which was approved by 57 percent of voters in a statewide referendum. ... Marshall said Herring has violated rules of professional conduct for attorneys: "The people who voted for this constitutional amendment should not be left without a defense."
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"What a novel concept," said Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Henrico County. "If you ask any law school professor or constitutional scholar, they will tell you with absolute certainty that no General Assembly can give or confer standing in federal court." ... The House-passed measure faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, where there is an even split between Republicans and Democrats and Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam has the power to break tie votes. ... "We expect the Senate to reject this effort to undermine our citizens' civil right to marry the person they love," Del. Mark Sickles of Fairfax County, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement after the vote.
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Bill Sizemore, 804-697-1560, [e-mail]