CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a motion Friday to intervene in a federal case that challenges the state’s ban on gay marriage.
Three same-sex couples filed the lawsuit in Huntington Federal Court Oct. 1 against Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick and Cabell County Clerk Karen Cole saying they’ve been denied marriage licenses.
AG Morrisey said he is intervening to defend the constitutionality of West Virginia’s ban.
“An Attorney General has a duty to defend a state law if it is enacted properly and is consistent with the Constitution,” Morrisey said in a prepared statement. “We will represent the State of West Virginia in this case and discharge our responsibilities faithfully.”
A federal judge previously ruled the two county clerks could delay their responses to the lawsuit until Morrisey decided whether he would intervene.