Holder: Anti-Gay Laws Don’t Need To Be Defended
The six state attorneys general — all Democrats — who have refused to defend bans on same-sex marriage are being criticized by Republicans who say that they have a duty to uphold their state laws, even when they do not agree with them. But in their defense, U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder has said that when laws touch on core constitutional issues like equal protection, a state attorney general should apply the highest level of scrutiny before reaching a decision on whether to defend it. He said the decision should never be political or based on policy objections.
As an example, Mr. Holder cited the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which forced public school integration in 1954. “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,” Mr. Holder said.
Holder also said he had not reviewed a bill passed by Arizona lawmakers this month allowing businesses to refuse to provide goods and services to gays and lesbians on religious grounds. If signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, it is likely to face swift legal challenges.
Arizona’s Republican attorney general Tom Horne, would have to decide whether to defend it.
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