Virginia Attorney General Says He Won't Defend State's Gay Marriage Ban in Court

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the state's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional and he won't be defending it in court, the AP reports: 

Virginia, widely considered a battleground state in the nationwide fight to grant same-sex couples the right to wed, will instead side with the plaintiffs who are seeking to have the ban struck down, a spokesman for Attorney General Mark Herring said in an email to The Associated Press.

"After a thorough legal review of the matter, Attorney General Herring has concluded that Virginia's current ban is in violation of the U.S. constitution and he will not defend it," spokesman Michael Kelly wrote.

Herring, who campaigned in part on marriage equality, planned to file a brief Thursday morning with the federal court in Norfolk, where one of the lawsuits is being heard, as notification of the state's change in position in the case, Kelly said.

There are currently two federal marriage equality cases in Virginia. The American Foundation of Equal Rights (AFER) and Ted Olson and David Boies have taken the lead of one case originally filed by a local law firm. In the other case, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are representing plaintiffs.