Gay Rights Lawyers: Obama Administration Rebuffed Us

The fallout from the DOJ brief in support of DOMA and less than friendly conduct of Obama administration officials continues to unfold and is increasingly a clusterf*ck for Obama and the DNC in terms of secure LGBT support - and more importantly money. The more information that leaks out, the worse it looks and more high profile LGBT political donors bail from attending the DNC fundraiser on June 25th. For example, two prominent gay rights lawyers litigating high-profile cases against the Obama administration have told the plumeline that their requests to meet with administration lawyers to discuss the cases were rebuffed It seems lies and disingenuous on the part of the Obama administration are reaping just rewards. Personally, I hope the boycott of the DNC fundraiser gathers steam and the event becomes a huge embarrassment. Here are highlights on the administration's treatment of LGBT rights lawyers:

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Two prominent gay rights lawyers litigating high-profile cases against the Obama administration tell me that their requests to meet with administration lawyers to discuss the cases were rebuffed — something that will further anger gay rights activists who feel badly stiff-armed by Obama on gay rights issues.

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In both cases, the lawyers are representing Federal employees whose spouses are being denied protections or benefits under the Defense of Marriage Act. The Obama administration, which is officially opposed to DOMA, is defending the act in court and claiming it precludes the granting of some benefits (like health care) to same-sex spouses of Federal employees — the topic of so much controversy this week surrounding a case in California.
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The refusal of meetings raises new questions about the Obama administration’s commitment to gay rights. Activists say the administration’s lawyers should want to meet to discuss such cases, in hopes that opposing lawyers find a way for the administration to legally grant benefits around DOMA, even as it defends the act in court.

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But Gary Buseck, the legal director for the gay rights group GLAD, tells me that he was rebuffed after asking Justice Department lawyers earlier this spring to discuss a big case he’s working on: A lawsuit in Boston on behalf of eight married couples and three surviving spouses who have been denied federal legal protections available to spouses under DOMA.

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Jennifer Pizer, the marriage project director for Lambda Legal, had a similar experience on another high-profile case, also in California. She’s representing a U.S. Court of Appeals lawyer who’s fighting the federal Office of Personnel Management. The OPM is refusing benefits to her spouse under DOMA — even though two Federal appeals court judges have said employees of their court are entitled to health benefits for same-sex partners.

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[T]hese lawyers think this is probably likely to change in the wake of the eruption of controversy over the California case. Nonetheless, it isn’t going to sit well with gay rights activists who are still wondering just how committed the Obama administration is to their cause.

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I can only wonder WTF the Obama administration when it left a Mormon Bush administration appointee in charge of the brief in support of DOMA last week. They might just as well have assigned the case to Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel - I doubt Staver would have produced a more insulting brief that what was in fact submitted.