This item popped up last night:
New Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says his decision to challenge his state’s ban on gay marriage, rather than defend it on behalf of the state, is part of an evolution in his views on the subject.
Herring announced his decision to side with plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the state’s ban on Thursday, a reversal from the position of his predecessor, Republican Ken Cuccinelli.
The Democrat, who was elected in November and took office this month, said though he voted against same sex marriage in the past, his views have changed.
Think of it as evolution in action. While I’m not sure I like the political theatre involved – either you’re for it or against it, and expediencies should be damned – this is a better outcome than the reverse, pursuing such cases more actively.
See, it does two things, one good and one bad.
First, it gives political cover to the legislature to introduce a bill allowing same-sex marriage. A good thing, of course, one whose time has come (pardon the pun). I won’t list the merits of getting on board this bandwagon or why people should be free to marry whomever they love, so long as they are consenting human adults.
So the bad thing? If somehow a bill doesn’t get crafted and Herring doesn’t get re-elected, another wingnut hater might win the AG election and re-establish the pogrom against gays. That’s a bit troubling. Further, anyone who runs on an “I voted against gay marriage” platform will undergo scrutiny by the media to ensure that he or she too does not evolve.
What is it with Southerners and evolution, anyway? I guess something that passes you by, you get all “sour grapey” about…
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