Democrat AG candidate would defend gay marriage ban
OTTAWA A week after the first same-sex marriage in Kansas and an order halting any more candidates comments indicate the state will go down swinging in an attempt to stop further unions.
A.J. Kotich, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, said at a forum organized by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Monday night he will defend the Kansas Constitution and its prohibition against same-sex marriage if elected.
Current Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, is already fighting the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Kotichs comments ensure that whoever occupies the office after the election will continue to argue in favor of the ban in court.
You obviously have to defend our constitution, Kotich said. You take an oath when you become attorney general. The oath says that I hereby shall affirm or swear that I shall defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Kansas. And I believe that in 2005 we voted to have a constitutional amendment ban on such marriages. So number one, as your attorney general I would have to defend that.
Despite an election cycle that is proving tough for some high-level Kansas Republicans such as Gov. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts, Schmidt is considered the prohibitive favorite in his race against Kotich. Public Policy Polling, of Raleigh, N.C., gave Schmidt a 26-point lead over Kotich in polling released Monday.
Last week the Johnson County District Court clerks office issued a same-sex marriage license, but the Kansas Supreme Court halted any more licenses from being issued after Schmidt asked the high court to intervene. A hearing has been set for Nov. 6.
Kansas laws are presumed constitutional unless and until a court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise. No court has ruled otherwise in a case challenging the Kansas Constitutions prohibition on same-sex marriage, so I presume it to be constitutional, Schmidt told the Capital-Journal in response to a question about gay marriage for a voters guide.
Although Kansas ban has not been struck down, a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear cases challenging bans in other states effectively legalized gay marriage in those states by letting lower court rulings tossing out the bans to stand.
See the original post here:
Democrat AG candidate would defend gay marriage ban