Conservative Christian Lawyers Willing To Take Up Fight For DOMA

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON -- If President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice no longer want to defend the Defense of Marriage Act from challenges by gay rights activists, who will?

Leading conservative law firms say they're eager to defend the 1996 law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but that may not be so easy.

Could a conservative firm like Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based group that often opposes the administration, be the stand-in for the U.S. attorney general before a judge hearing DOMA challenges?

"That's what we're pursuing," said Mathew Staver, founder of the firm and dean of Liberty University School of Law. "Somebody has to step in and do the job when the attorney general and the president will abandon theirs."

Liberty Counsel had filed friend-of-the-court briefs in two DOMA court cases and is now strategizing with members of Congress to intervene on their behalf to defend the law that bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

"It's early in the process," said Staver, whose firm has litigated dozens of cases related to marriage -- including DOMA -- and represented Congress, state legislators and private organizations on other issues.

"We're still doing a lot of preliminary discussion."

Staver and other conservative lawyers have harshly criticized the announcement Wednesday (Feb. 23) by Attorney General Eric Holder that Obama had determined that DOMA is unconstitutional when applied to same-sex couples married legally under state law.

Last month, the Alliance Defense Fund submitted a brief on behalf of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in response to a Massachusetts challenge of DOMA being heard in a federal appeals court. Now it could be turning its attention to the cases in Connecticut and New York that prompted the administration's new decision.

"I have no doubt that the Alliance Defense Fund and other organizations will involve themselves in these cases," said Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Arizona-based firm. "The question is what is going to be the nature of the role. If somebody with (legal)
standing to intervene in these cases wants ADF to represent them, we will certainly explore that with them."

California's Proposition 8 -- which ended same-sex marriages in the state but was later ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge -- offers some clues to the road ahead.

The ADF is representing the group ProtectMarriage.com to defend the 2008 voter referendum after the state's governor and attorney general opted not to defend it; the California Supreme Court is weighing whether the group has legal standing to step in as the case heads to a federal appeals court.

The American Center for Law and Justice, a law firm founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, also is mulling its role in the fight over DOMA.

Jordan Sekulow, a lawyer and policy director with the Washington-based firm, said attorneys are in private discussions with members of Congress and could represent some by filing amicus briefs or more directly representing them in court.

"It's possible that because of the politically charged nature of this that it's more likely for organizations who have taken a stand on this issue to lead the defense," he said.

His firm has represented dozens of members of Congress in recent cases, from opposing Obama's health care plan in Virginia and Florida to supporting the National Day of Prayer and disputed crosses erected in California.

But do these groups have a chance if they try to pick up where Justice Department lawyers left off?

John Witte, director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, said conservative activists simply don't have the firepower or the "unrivaled" political power of administration lawyers.

"There's just no substitute for having the federal government's attorney general and Office of Legal Counsel involved in these cases," he said.

"Maintaining DOMA once the administration steps away ... is going to be much harder."

Comments

[John Melgar]

12:36 AM on 03/30/2011

eric holder looks like a black version of george lucas

[marignymitch]

03:07 PM on 02/27/2011

Or following Christ by caring for the poor, hungry, homeless? Not so much.

[kd1s]

07:21 AM on 02/27/2011

I think we'll see this settled when the California Supreme Court makes the determination that the defendant intervenors have no standing in the court. I really think it's going to go that way.

So too this case, the only party that can defend this is the government, not private parties.

[interlude]

02:42 AM on 02/27/2011

It's about time these dinosaurs give it up. They probably would've lobbied for government funding of the buggy whip industry.

[Daleri Rileda]

01:37 AM on 02/27/2011

We have a President who declares his own marriage to be unconstitutional.

[ThinkCreeps]

08:59 AM on 02/27/2011

I think you'll find that even the most rabid superstitious lunatic wouldn't try to apply old anti-miscegenation laws to a marriage between two apparently african-american citizens.

[Daleri Rileda]

02:01 PM on 02/28/2011

So his own marriage is unconstitutional according to his own interpretation.

He is basically saying that there is no law.

[thebigbike]

10:39 PM on 02/26/2011

the willingness - eagerness - demands that christianist lawyers take up the fight against same sex marriage certainly doesn't weaken the argument that the fight against same sex marriage is motivated by religious dogma rather than demonstrated compelling government interest.

[sunshine14]

09:49 AM on 02/27/2011

Religious dogma, and the religious them selves, are going against and breaking the very Laws of God themselves. Religious, are going against God, telling God what to do now. God the creator of all gave ALL Free Will to chose. So the religious, are battling with God, who's very OWN, Will & Desire, was to give ALL HE created Free Will also to chose for themselves, to judge for themselves ONLY, for their OWN salvation.

One cannot FORCE, their own Religious, belief Faith, personal choice, way of life,  onto others who do not BELIEVE, or BELIEVE.
God who right in the Beginning, Created all and gave ALL  Free Will, to chose, do they religious, not think, that God knew all that was to come, what man would DO?  when GOD HIMSELF, gives us  OUR OWN END, when God comes to dwell among men? 
The religious in the Courts nor judges can ever PROOF, in knowing THEY know the MIND OF GOD> Funny things, those, sinners judging sinners.

[onewhothinks]

09:00 PM on 02/26/2011

More disturbing than the opposition of things like gay marriage or pro-choice is that many of those who claim to support this things are themselves so quick to preach the idiocy and gullibility of the entire population of christians, or just the religious in general.

Atheism or agnosticism do not render an individual immune to becoming bigoted or elitist. Those that think it does only make themselves all the more vulnerable to it.

[interlude]

02:44 AM on 02/27/2011

Such twisted logic.

[Jason N]

03:38 PM on 03/01/2011

"so quick to preach the idiocy and gullibilit­y of the entire population of christians"

You believe a talking snake tricked a woman made from the rib of a man into eating a forbidden fruit. You believe a giant fish (not a whale mind you, they're not fish) swallowed a man whole and that said man survived, and was freed from the fish. You believe the Earth was completely covered in water at one point in our history. All of these things are simply not possible.

[onewhothinks]

07:20 PM on 03/01/2011

I am offended at this assumption. I know these things are not possible - I am a practical person, the sort the scientific method was practically made to appeal to. What you refer to is actually a specific type of Christian that rejects the idea that any part of the bible is allegory rather than an account of things that actually happed or were witnessed. I am not one of those. The Garden of Eden? A standard primitive explanation of the start of the world based on early religious beliefs. Noah's Ark? The retelling of an ancient, local flooding, altered from its original form by years of oral tradition before being committed to paper. Many Christians get so caught up in these stories that they forget what makes it Christianity - the teachings of Christ. The miracles don't matter to me. Messages of kindness towards fellow humans do.

[Vere15]

08:15 PM on 02/26/2011

This truly is the world upside down - people defending the institution of marriage by marrying several times and banning ab0t1ion so that they can get as many kids in harm's way as possible.

[Morcat]

07:24 PM on 02/26/2011

Wonderful! I hope that is exactly what they do -- right down to their last penny. There's no better way to deplete funds than in high profile, long-lasting court cases. Not only are there conservative Christian lawyers on the side of defeating DOMA (ever hear of Ted Olson?) there are plenty of funds. It's a shame that an unconstitutional, discriminatory law has to be defeated with money, but if that's how it has to be, it just has to be that way.

[BeninOakland]

06:43 PM on 02/26/2011

The people who testified in the Prop. 8 case pretty much made the case for marriage equality(Blankenhorn), or admitted their inane arguments had no basis in reality (Cooper), when they weren't making up stuff (citing Kurtz),

What Obama said: We have NO case to make, because the case we can make has been thoroughly discredited by its proponents. He basically concluded what every gay person knows when dealing with the anti-gay mindset and industry. It's never about anything but this: how much our very existence bothers, frightens, and entices--not to mention enriches--some straight people, and a lot of wanna-be-straight-but-ain'ts.

Obama said we can't even pretend anymore that this is about anything other than plain old fashioned bigotry, whether disguised as sincere religious belief or admitted for what it is. And, just because someone claims "sincere religious belief" doesn't make that either a true statement, or morally right.

What Obama said in his annoucement is that this is bigotry, and bigotry is indefensible.

[DevonTexas]

06:42 PM on 02/26/2011

I hope they spend million of dollars on this futile effort.

[Balancement]

05:25 PM on 02/26/2011

Let the Conservative Christian lawyers fight it if they want. They'll fail as miserably as they did on the Prop 8 battle. All they'll do is highlight how unconstitutional it is to use religion to deem some Americans as second-class citizens.

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government."
--Thomas Jefferson

[StevenKeirstead]

05:52 PM on 02/26/2011

If I weren't an agnostic, I might say amen!

[LearningCommunity]

03:03 PM on 02/26/2011

Interesting, during the Civil Rights movement where were these white Southern "conservative" lawyers. No where. There was no defense of equal rights for blacks. In fact, they fought to keep blacks separate.

In fact now that I think about it, this is actually consisent with the white southern view point. Keep separate anything you dont like. The idea that minorities or gays could be equal in the eyes of the law is something these white southerners will fight to maintain.

[Bob Wood]

02:38 PM on 02/26/2011

Well they're probably OK lawyers...and they'll have to be to make a wrong...right. It's only right that all people should be able to marry the person they love, regardless of the sexes involved. That's the right thing. Because of some erronious religious views...this whole opposition to gay marriage rests solely on emotional grounds. There's no rational reason for anyone to object. Christians have been on the wrong side of almost every important issue facing mankind from the very beginning. They were singlehandedly responsible for the Dark Ages, they stifled education and thought for the best part of 1800 years. They discouraged advances in medicine because illness was Gods punishment for sin...and mental illness was considered demonic possession. Then there was the witchcraft fiasco that killed and maimed untold thousands of people. They biblically upheld slavery...and now...AND NOW...they're on the wrong side of the gay marriage issue too. It's all in the history books...look it up; And why ? Well...the Bible says so...that book written by men who knew nothig of the world in which they lived...let alone biochemistry. Good grief ! Give it a break. Gay marriage threatens no one and nothing...except some narrowminded and superstitious people. For once...just do what's right...because it's right. Exercise your reason instead of your dogma...(sigh)

[SeattleSage]

09:26 AM on 02/26/2011

Conservative Christian lawyers defended against the repeal of Slavery, against a women's right to vote, against civil rights, etc. Don Quixote, anyone?

[DevonTexas]

06:44 PM on 02/26/2011

They've been with us at every turn in the road.... and lost miserably. LOL

THanks for the historical reminder, too.

To paraphrase Chirst... "The haters you will have with you always."