FRC: Arrogant Judge Strikes Down Virginia Marriage Amendment

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Feb 14, 2014, 08:43 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Late last night Virginia's Attorney General Mark Herring announced that Judge Arenda Wright had struck down the state's duly enacted constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Virginia voters had adopted the amendment with 57 percent of the vote.

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Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement regarding the decision:

"It appears that we have yet another example of an arrogant judge substituting her personal preferences for the judgment of the General Assembly and 57 percent of Virginia voters. Our nation's judicial system has been infected by activist judges, which threaten the stability of our nation and the rule of law.

"This ruling comes on the heels of Attorney General Mark Herring's refusal to fulfill his constitutional duty to defend the state's marriage law. His lawlessness is an insult to the voters of Virginia who rightfully expected elected officials to uphold the laws and constitution of the state, not attack them as Herring has done.

"An arrogant judiciary is only one of the major consequences of the drive to redefine marriage. Increasingly, Americans are being forced to finance and celebrate unions that not only step on free speech and religious liberty but also deny children a mom and a dad. Rather than live-and-let-live, this court by redefining marriage will create a level of inequality that has never been seen in our country as people are forced to suppress or violate the basic teachings of their faith," concluded Perkins.

SOURCE Family Research Council