Eric Holder tells the States’ AG not to bother defending gay marriage bans
US Attorney General offered some advice for State attorney generals on gay marriage bans, noting that are unconstitutional and they shouldn’t have to defend them.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Speaking to the National Association of Attorneys General, Holder said deciding not to defend a state’s law should only be done under “exceptional circumstances,” noting cases against gay marriage bans qualify as such.
He added that his state counterparts should uphold the values “that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity.”
“Any decisions, at any level, not to defend individual laws must be exceedingly rare,” Holder said. “They must be reserved only for exceptional, truly exceptional circumstances.”
“And they must never stem merely from policy or political disagreements, hinging instead on firm constitutional grounds,” he added.
Democratic attorneys general in Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Oregon and Nevada had all already declined to defend same-sex marriage bans against lawsuits filed by gay couples.
Critics reacted to Holder’s move, saying top state law enforcement officials have a duty to stand behind their state laws.
Michigan is the latest state to battle in court on the issue.
“The state of Michigan’s already spoken on this issue. The people, the public has spoken, and God has spoken,” Rex Evans, pastor of Free Will Baptist Church, said.
In Arizona, gay marriage supporters are pressuring Gov. Jan Brewer not to veto a bill that protects the religious rights of business owners who don’t want to provide services for same-sex couples.
