Gay marriage emerges as issue in Colo. AG’s race

The Democrats’ candidate for Colorado attorney general says the state’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional rights of gay couples and that the law shouldn’t be defended.

Don Quick made the comments Tuesday morning, saying that if a law is unconstitutional, “the attorney general has an obligation to say so.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule whether state bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional.

Current Attorney General John Suthers, who is term-limited, joined nine states that filed arguments in support of Utah’s gay-marriage ban. The case is pending in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Republican candidates Rep. Mark Waller and Cynthia Coffman, Suthers’ chief deputy, both say the attorney general’s office should defend Colorado’s ban, like it defends other laws, unless they’re ruled unconstitutional.