July 31, 2014 11:30 AM UTC

Coffman: "My Dog Knows What 'Stay' Means"

• 12 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Attorney General John Suthers and his chief deputy, Cynthia Coffman (who also happens to be the Republican nominee for AG in 2014) have been criticized repeatedly over the last several weeks for continuing to defend a "same-sex marriage ban" that is quite clearly doomed to be defeated by the Supreme Court (Colorado, U.S., or otherwise). Suthers' obsession with trying to prevent same-sex marriage bans from being overturned has seen his office organizing defenses as far away as Indiana (no, seriously), and it is a crusade that will likely prove costly to Coffman's efforts at winning her own election as Attorney General in November.

According to something called the Villager Newspaper, Coffman has taken these efforts to another level with some pretty ridiculous rhetoric:

At the recent Western Conservative Conference she was asked if she shared her husband’s opinions.

“We do not agree on everything. On social issues, I am a moderate,” Cynthia said.

“I respect John – he has not been political and held true to his charge. We have been in the news a lot lately and things are changing quickly on the judicial landscape. The hot topic now is same sex marriage and it’s no coincidence that the Dems love having this issue on the front burner. The job of the attorney general is to follow the Constitution of the state of Colorado and the United States, to follow the rule of law and enforce the statutes. Two disagree with me – the Democrat and Libertarian running against me. My dog knows what ‘stay’ means. The clerk in Boulder County does not. [Pols emphasis] It is sad when someone who takes an oath to uphold the law is inconsistent and unpredictable.  We are beaten up for defending the law – it’s not easy. There is still a battle by the AG’s over Obamacare and I want to join them.”

Whoa.

Coffman's comments are a direct criticism of Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall, who until recently had been issuing same-sex marriage licenses under the belief that such a ban is "unconstitutional and unenforceable" after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Utah's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional. Yesterday the Colorado Supreme Court ordered Hall to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses while it prepares its own decision.

Coffman's comments above were apparently made several weeks ago, at a point when numerous judges were telling Suthers and Coffman that their appeals were crap; if anybody could be accused of ignoring decisions from the courts at that point, it would be Suthers and Coffman. Regardless, this is a stupid and insensitive comment for Coffman to make — one that will surely be used against her campaign this fall. Remember, Colorado voters largely support same-sex marriage and equality issues, and Coffman's comments make it much more difficult to just say she is "only doing her job" as Suthers' chief deputy.