The law firm hired by gay-bashing House Republicans to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (which strips recognition from same sex marriages) has bowed to public pressure and decided it will drop its defense of the federal statute.
The firm, King and Spalding, had faced protests from gay rights groups after its contract with House GOP leaders-- and staggering $500,000 price tag-- became public. The Human Rights Campaign announced a national campaign last week to urge the group to withdraw from the agreement.
The firm had agreed to work on behalf of the GOP House leadership after the Obama administration announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the law, which it says is unconstitutional.
Paul Clement, former George W. Bush Solicitor General, who was to be the lead lawyer to defend DOMA in court, has also resigned from King and Spalding. In his resignation letter, Clement wrote that his decision was a result of his "firmly-held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters."
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