Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring
said on Friday said that he was “proud” of a federal ruling
declaring invalid Virginia's ban on gay marriage.
(Related: Judge
strikes down Virginia's ban on gay marriage.)
“This case is about whether our
friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, our family members are
entitled to the joy, recognition, and benefits of marriage that
opposite sex couples now take for granted,” Herring said during a
news conference. “As Attorney General, I'm proud that the
commonwealth is on the right side of the law in this case.”
Last month, Herring announced that his
office would not defend the law in court and instead would file a
brief in support of the two couples challenging the ban.
U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen
stayed her ruling pending an appeal to the 4th Circuit
Court of Appeals in Richmond.
Herring said that Allen's decision was
the latest federal ruling since the Supreme Court decision in United
States v. Windsor to “agree with me” on the issue of marriage
equality. (Video from the press conference is embedded on this page.
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He added that his office is taking “steps
to make sure the case progresses as rapidly as possible.”
Two appeals courts, the 10th
and the 9th, have fast-tracked similar cases.