Sometimes it is hard living in a democracy. It is hard for some to live up to the creed of this nation, that all men and women are created equal. We know that our government discriminates against the LGBT community reflecting the views of Americans who are increasingly in the minority with their opposition to LGBT equality. The worst manifestation of government sponsored discrimination is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
As you know, DOMA is the federal law that says marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman. It further ensures that any relationship between same-sex couples cannot be recognized by the federal government.
We have all heard about the 1,100 or so rights and responsibilities that same-sex couples are denied because of DOMA. So when the Obama administration and the U.S. Justice Department refused to defend the discriminatory law in the courts, many rejoiced. Thinking that with no defense, the legal process would grind to a halt and Congress would be forced to overturn the discriminatory law.
Enter Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Republican Congress.
Boehner decided to hire a high-priced attorney from the former Bush administration to mount a defense of DOMA on behalf of Congress. At a whopping bill rate of more than $500 per hour, the law firm mounting the defense on behalf of Congress was King and Spalding.
Enter the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBT groups.
Immediately, there were vigorous calls for fair-minded law students and attorneys to avoid working at King and Spalding. The hypocrisy of King and Spalding was brought to light, given that they have a diversity group and LGBT attorneys. Then it was discovered that part of the contract required that no attorney at the firm could make any statements or advocate on behalf of DOMA repeal.
Ultimately, King and Spalding bowed out. Why they decided to invalidate the contract with Congress is up for debate. Was it pressure from HRC and other LGBT groups? Was it internal pressure from fair-minded attorneys within the firm? Was it rumored pressure from its major client Coca-Cola? Whatever the cause, King and Spalding changed its mind.
Victory, right? I don’t think so.
Our community can sometimes be short-sighted. Our leaders helped force a firm to drop a case because we didn’t like what their side had to say. Hmm, I wonder whether our enemies will now employ the same strategy against firms that defend LGBT rights.
I can envision the Family Research Council or the National Organization for Marriage, organizing against firms that are defending our rights in cases surrounding DOMA, Proposition 8, adoption rights or same-sex partner immigration. That would be wrong, just like it was wrong for us to intervene in King and Spalding’s potential defense of DOMA.
What should our leaders have focused upon? Public money being used to enforce discrimination against its citizenry. The federal government should not spend a cent to defend a law that any reasonable legal scholar understands is discriminatory on its face. However, private money could be raised by Boehner and the Republican Congress to mount a defense if they so choose. The fact that my taxes are helping to fund government sponsored discrimination against me is unconscionable. However, it has happened in my family before; I am also African American.
The LGBT community should welcome the opportunity for a prestigious law firm to spout hate on the record and to mount a defense that will crumble under its own discriminatory weight. That would be true victory, as has been seen in so many LGBT rights cases moving through courts across the nation.
Sometimes it is difficult living in a democracy because we cannot make everyone believe what we believe. We can’t force anyone to change their view, even when that view is discriminatory. However, we can make sure the government does not discriminate against us and that it makes every effort to ensure others do not discriminate against us. That requires a belief in our system of government and buying into the tenets of this nation, no matter how slow progress toward LGBT equality seems to move. Preventing a defense of DOMA by any means necessary is not the answer.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King
STAMPP CORBIN, Publisher
San Diego LGBT Weekly
