Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), has called for the impeachment of
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring over his decision to no longer
defend the state's ban on gay marriage.
Herring announced his decision on
Thursday, saying that he believes the ban violates the U.S.
Constitution.
(Related: Virginia's
Mark Herring says he was wrong to oppose gay marriage.)
In responding to the news, Brown called
for Herring's ouster.
“The Attorney General swore an oath
that he would 'support … the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Virginia' and faithfully discharge his duties, which include
defending duly enacted laws like the state's marriage amendment,”
said Brown. “Yet now Attorney General Herring is participating in
a lawsuit against the very people he is sworn to represent, the
citizens of Virginia who preserved marriage in their constitution.
This malfeasance and neglect of duty is not only a disgrace, it's an
impeachable offense under the constitution.”
John Eastman, chairman of NOM's Board
of Directors, echoed the sentiment.
“The attorney general's decision to
advocate against the state's marriage law is an egregious violation
of his duty,” Eastman said. “Here you don't merely have the
attorney general abandoning the defense of the law and remaining
neutral – a decision which itself would be based on very dubious
grounds. No, this goes further: Herring is staying involved in the
case, and advocating directly for the side opposed to the interests
of his clients, the people of Virginia. Any other lawyer pulling
that kind of nonsense would be disbarred.”