VA AG Rejects Gay Marriage Ban

Another one bites the dust. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the state will no longer defend its ban on same-sex marriage in federal lawsuits challenging it, as he has concluded the law is unconstitutional. The shift from the attorney general comes as two recent court rulings in Utah and Oklahoma have struck down gay-marriage bans. The previous attorney general, conservative Ken Cuccinelli, was seen as an activist on social issues like gay marriage. In 2006, the same-sex marriage ban in Virginia was approved 57 percent to 43 percent. But in July, a poll found that 50 percent of voters in the state now support gay marriage.