From the Mark Herring for Attorney General campaign:
Herring for Attorney General campaign manager Kevin O’Holleran released the following statement in response to Senator Mark Obenshain’s campaign release about keeping children safe:
“Candidate Mark Obenshain is again refusing to acknowledge Senator Mark Obenshain's extreme record. It’s unfortunate that during his time in the Senate, Mark Obenshain put his own personal ideology ahead of keeping children safe.
“In 2008, he voted against funding for Alicia’s Law to crack down on child-sex predators. In 2004, he voted against requiring clergy to report suspected instances of child abuse, and then again in 2006 he voted against adding clergy to the list of professionals required to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. And he was one of three legislators to vote against extending the period of time that victims of childhood sexual abuse may file a lawsuit against their abuser. Unfortunately, again Mark Obenshain is hiding his record from voters.
“Mark Herring has an actual record of keeping kids safe, including working to crack down on designer drugs like synthetic marijuana and bath salts. Additionally, this year he worked to give prosecutors more tools to put child sex offenders behind bars. Mark Herring has an actual record of working to keep Virginia’s children and families safe.
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Background:
- Mark Obenshain, in 2008, voted against a budget that included funding $1.5 million for Alicia’s Law, which creates task forces aimed at catching online child-sex predators. Mark Herring voted to pass this budget. (HB 29, 3/13/2008)
- Mark Obenshain, in 2004, voted against requiring “clergy to report suspected instances of child abuse.” In 2006 he voted against adding “clergy to the list of professionals required to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.” (SB 314, 1/29/2004; SB 253, 2/2/2006, Associated Press, 1/29/04, Associated Press 2/2/06 )
- Mark Obenshain, in 2011, was one of three state legislators who voted against extending from two years “to 20 years the period in which a victim of childhood sexual abuse may file a lawsuit against an abuser.” He called the proposed time extension unfair and “‘truly mind-boggling.’” Mark Herring supported this extension. (SB 1145, 2/3/2011; Associated Press, 2/2/11)
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