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Virginia state Sen. Dick Black (R-Loudoun County) on Friday compared the U.S. Supreme Court justices who extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country earlier this year to Iranian ayatollahs.

“There is a parallel between what we have and what they have in Iran,” the Loudoun County Republican told NBC4 reporter Tom Sherwood during an appearance on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” on WAMU. “In Iran the people elect their Parliament; they elect their president, but they have ayatollahs who have the final decision. They can issue decrees. They can cancel legislation and as a consequence the people really have no power.”

Black reiterated his position when Sherwood asked him about the desegregation of schools and other landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

“Frankly they create laws,” said Black. “There’s nobody who can tell me there is a scintilla of law or constitutional support for saying that you can redefine marriage. The Supreme Court doesn’t have the authority to pass laws, but they’re doing it and unfortunately we don’t have checks and balances and in that respect we’re very much like the ayatollahs. The people have no voice. They don’t have any control.”

Black’s comments came in response to Sherwood’s question about the impact of the Obergefell decision in Virginia.

“The problem we’ve got is the people are supposed to be sovereign in this country,” said the Loudoun County Republican. “It’s really more of a myth because the Supreme Court issues laws. It doesn’t just interpret the law, but it creates law, the highest legislative body in the land.”

Virginia voters in 2006 approved an amendment to the commonwealth’s constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

U.S. District Court Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen in February 2014 found the amendment unconstitutional.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a few months later upheld her decision. Gays and lesbians began to legally marry in Virginia in October 2014 after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal of the aforementioned ruling.

“Three-fifths of all states had gone through this enormously cumbersome process to change their constitutions to say marriage is one man and one woman,” said Black. “And then the word came down from wherever it comes down to the Supreme Court saying, ‘Hey guys we’re sick of this if we don’t stop it, we’re going to have 50 states that are all going to put this in their constitutions.’ The Supreme Court just wiped it out and said you know what we don’t care what the people say. We are the rulers and nobody can overrule us.”

Black during the interview said that U.S. Supreme Court justices should serve on the bench in six-year terms.

The Loudoun County Republican said a third of the justices should seek re-election every two years.

“They can explain to the people, ‘Okay the reason that I don’t know the difference between men and women is because of this provision of the constitution or whatever,’” said Black. “I think people would probably defer to them as long as they can actually show some law.”

Black’s appearance on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” took place three days after he defeated Democrat Jill McCabe by a 52-47 percent margin.

McCabe in a campaign ad that aired in the D.C. media market ahead of Tuesday’s election highlighted Black’s previous comments against gays and lesbians.

“If I were advising the Democrats; I would say you know what, you really have got to moderate,” said Black during his appearance on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show.” “When you’re doing the men and women’s locker rooms and stuff like that you’re kind of pushing the envelope a little bit.”

Black did not immediately return the Washington Blade’s request for comment.