Va. lawmakers want ban on gay marriage defended

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/01/va-lawmakers-want-ban-gay-marriage-defended



Va. lawmakers want ban on gay marriage defended
By Julian Walker
Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 25, 2014

Del. Bob Marshall and 31 other state lawmakers have asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe to appoint legal counsel to defend Virginia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage now that Attorney General Mark Herring has said he'll seek to overturn it, not protect it.

The request is spelled out in a two-paragraph letter that Marshall, R-Prince William County, sent to McAuliffe on Friday, one day after Herring announced he thinks the marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution.

~snip~

In a separate development, the House Courts of Justice Committee fast-tracked a bill that would give lawmakers standing to defend state laws that the governor or attorney general won't.

"It is imperative that we provide a mechanism to protect and defend the people of the Commonwealth and the laws they have duly adopted," Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, said after his HB706 advanced on a 13-7 vote.

[shenmue]

1. Protect them from what?