Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring visited the University Friday to discuss the role of the Attorney General’s office with regard to same-sex marriage and campus safety across the commonwealth.
Herring spent much of the event, which was hosted by the Women, Gender and Sexuality Program, discussing his changing of the state's position on Virginia's constitutional same-sex marriage ban. Upon taking office, Herring said he would not defend the state ban in court — an issue that has drawn increased attention as Bostic v. Rainey, a case challenging the ban, moves through the court system and seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Herring said bans on same-sex marriage not only violate the Supreme Court precedent that marriage is a fundamental right, they also violate due process and equal protection under the law by treating same-sex couples as second-class citizens.
“[There’s an] inescapable conclusion that marriage is a fundamental right,” he said.
He said it the issue comes down to the fact that governments should treat everyone equally.
“[It’s] important to look at these cases and look at what’s new and not new,” he said. “What is changing is how that equality of right affects same-sex couples.”
Herring said he has been criticized for not defending Virginia's constitutional ban and thus not filling his proper role as attorney general, but said he is not fazed by these accusations.
“I took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said. “When the two conflict, the Constitution of the United States trumps [Virginia's].”
An audience member questioned Herring as to what might happen if the Supreme Court decides not to take up the Bostic case — to which he said the state would have to look at reworking its policies in the state health plan to increase the number benefits available to same-sex couples.
Nevertheless, he said he was optimistic the Supreme Court would decide to hear the case, adding that Bostic is one in a long line of civil rights cases in Virginia. He recalled past cases about segregation, interracial marriage, and gender equality, saying Virginia has been on the wrong side of the argument in each instance.
“[I am] determined that the injustice of Virginia’s position in landmark civil rights cases would not be repeated again,” he said. “When our children study this, they will know their Commonwealth was on the right side of the law and on the right side of history.”
Herring also discussed an initiative to address sexual violence on college campuses. He said there are long overdue conversations about a topic with appalling national statistics.
“Behind those statistics, behind every one of those numbers, is a student whose life has been changed forever,” he said. “Sexual violence will not be tolerated, nor will the societal norms that support it.”
He said his office is looking into innovative ways to prevent sexual assault, including bystander training. He said he wants to work with schools to ensure they respond appropriately to reports of sexual assault.
“No student should feel victimized by a response that is inadequate or inefficient,” he said.
Charlotte Patterson, director of the WGS program, said the department was delighted to have Herring’s input on these issues.
“He is, as Attorney General, involved in many important events involving Virginians across the Commonwealth,” she said. “[There are] a very notable set of issues that his administration has had to tackle, [including] same-sex marriage, which is of great interest to many of our students”
She said Herring’s perspective and viewpoints are particularly valuable to students in the WGS program.
“They’re issues that we teach [and] talk about,” Patterson said. “[They are] issues that concern students’ lives, and we’re very lucky to have his input about them.”
