The newly elected attorney general of Virginia, Mark Herring, just announced that he will not defend the state’s ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. He just filed a brief with the court and officially joined AFER’s side of the case.

Send a thank you note to Attorney General Herring right now. Let him know you stand with him.

The Virginia Attorney General’s principled stance comes at a critical time. We have an important hearing next Thursday in federal court. AFER is challenging Virginia’s marriage ban because it is not right for a state to discriminate against anyone, just because of who they love. Ted Olson and David Boies will be there, arguing that the failure of states like Virginia to recognize the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples is unconstitutional. Arguing alongside them will be the Commonwealth of Virginia, sending a powerful message.

By joining AFER’s case and standing on the side of love and equality, Attorney General Herring joins the ranks of elected officials who have stepped up when it mattered most. In AFER’s Prop. 8 case, President Obama and Attorneys General Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris also refused to defend California’s marriage ban.

Let’s make sure Mark Herring knows how many people support his decision to join our case for marriage equality. Send him a thank you note.

More than 30 national polls confirm that a majority of Americans support marriage equality. In Virginia, support is as high as 56%, according to a recent Washington Post poll.

Read the Attorney General’s brief: