|
 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's comments to the New York Times
came after at least five state lawyers, all of them Democrats, came
under fire for refusing to try and defeat legal challenges to bars
on same-sex unions in their areas.
Some Republicans and campaigners against gay marriage have
criticized the stands taken by the state-level attorneys general,
saying they have a duty to defend state law, whether they agree with
the policy or not.
But Holder, the nation's first black attorney general who has called
gay rights one of "the defining civil rights challenges of our
time", drew parallels with legal fights over the racial integration
of schools in the 1950s.
"If I were attorney general in Kansas in 1953, I would not have
defended a Kansas statute that put in place separate-but-equal
facilities," Holder said in an interview published on Monday.
Gay couples and rights supporters have launched a series of legal
challenges to bans in federal and state courts in recent months
following two key decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court last year.
Attorneys general should base their decision on whether to defend
their states in such cases, not on politics, but on questions of
guarantees under the U.S. Constitution, such as equal protection of
the law, Holder added.
"Engaging in that process and making that determination is something
that's appropriate for an attorney general to do," Holder told the
New York Times.
A decade ago, only one state was preparing to allow same-sex
marriages.
Now around 17 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex
nuptials in a movement that has gained momentum since the nation's
top court ruled in June that legally married same-sex couples were
eligible for federal benefits.
[to top of second column] |
Attorneys general in states such as Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and
Virginia, have said they would not defend gay marriage bans.
Their refusals have not led to the automatic overturning of the
bans. In Oregon, for example, the ban stood as it was enshrined in
the constitution.
Federal judges have ruled gay marriage bans unconstitutional in
Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, but the decisions have been stayed
pending appeal.
Lawyers for Virginia state said on Monday they planned to file such
an appeal in a bid to get a clear ruling on the issue.
Holder's view drew opposition from a Republican attorney general,
the New York Times reported.
Holder also said he had not reviewed a bill passed by Arizona
lawmakers this month allowing businesses to refuse service to
customers on religious grounds — which critics decried as anti-gay — but that if it is signed into law it would likely face fast legal
challenges.
Arizona's attorney general would have to decide whether to defend
it.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson; editing by Andrew Heavens)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
