In case you missed this weekend's debate between Attorney General Mark Herring and white collar defense attorney John Adams, here are the key takeaways:

1.     Adams, who fought against the reproductive health of women in the notorious Hobby Lobby case, said women’s access to birth control is “not an issue I think about. It’s not an issue I care about.”

• “‘He would ban abortion in all cases. He would even limit access to birth control,’ Herring said. Herring also referenced Adams’ work on behalf of Hobby Lobby… ‘Do you know what those cases were about? Limiting access to birth control,’ Herring said. ‘He fought at the Supreme Court twice for that.’” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

2.     Adams doubled down on his support for Trump’s travel ban, ruled unconstitutional by the Fourth Circuit, and criticized Attorney General Herring for going to Dulles to stand up for the American families affected by the unconstitutional and discriminatory ban.

• “Adams sided with Trump on the need for a temporary travel ban.” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

3.     When asked about stricter background checks, Adams said, “it’s not my job to close the gun show loophole.”

• “Adams and Herring disagree on stricter background checks at gun shows…Herring called for a return to Virginia’s previous policy of only allowing one handgun purchase a month. (McDonnell signed a repeal of the law in 2012.) Herring said Adams’ views were out of line with those of the public.” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

4.     In the spirit of Ken Cuccinelli, Adams doubled down on his opposition to marriage equality.

• "Herring said Adams would roll back rights and risk putting Virginia into economic uncertainty comparable to North Carolina after that state approved controversial measures on gay rights and use of bathrooms. 'You got into this race because of what I did on marriage equality,' Herring told him. 'You want to roll it back. That’s why you got into this race in the first place.' Herring said the attorney general should stand up for LGBT rights." - Richmond Times-Dispatch

KEY QUOTE: “‘Voters will have a stark choice,’ said Attorney General Mark Herring. ‘And there’s some interesting things in John’s background but he doesn’t talk that much about the work that he’s done more recently. He has been part of a powerful Richmond law firm for the last seven years, and he and his team brag about how they specialize in shielding people who are involved in kickbacks, pyramid schemes, embezzlement, money laundering, tax fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice. It’s astounding.’ 

"Herring said Adams protects the kind of people prosecutors work hard to bring to justice. ‘It’s like he’s trying to be the anti-attorney general.’" - Richmond Times-Dispatch

To read the full article by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, please visit the Richmond Times-Dispatch's website.