Utah Special Attorney General Cites “Religious Duty” For Defending Anti-Gay Law

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This blog previously looked at the decision of Gene Schaerr, heretofore a Washington, D.C., partner at the law firm Winston & Strawn, to leave the prestigious law firm to represent the State of Utah in its effort to deprive same sex couples of equal marriage rights.  Now we find out that Schaerr's motivation was seemingly religious extremism and a desire to impose Mormon religious beliefs on every citizen of the State of Utah.  An copy of Schaerr's e-mail to individuals at Winston & Strawn explaining his decision is set out above.  Given Winston & Strawn's gay friendly policies, one has to now wonder whether the firm was relieved to see Schaerr depart the firm.  Sadly, Shaerr's mindset is all too typical of the Christofascists and their Mormon allies who would subvert the United States Constitution.  Here are highlights from HRC's response after learning of Schaerr's motivation:

Gene Schaerr, a Washington, D.C. partner at the law firm Winston & Strawn, is citing his personal religious beliefs as the rationale behind his decision to quit his job and become the lead counsel on the State of Utah’s case against marriage equality. In a copy of Schaerr’s departure email to colleagues at the firm, Schaerr writes that he’s taking the Utah case “so that I can fulfill what I have come to see as a religious and family duty: defending the constitutionality of traditional marriage in the state where my church is headquartered and where most of my family resides.”

“It’s alarming that the reason Gene Schaerr gives for  taking this position has nothing to do with the U.S. Constitution or the legal issues at play,” said Fred Sainz, HRC Vice President of Communications. “Schaerr’s entire motivation for taking this anti-equality case is to impose a certain religious viewpoint on all Utahns – and that’s wrong. When you become an attorney, you take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, not any particular religious doctrine.”

Schaerr’s language in his departure e-mail places a heavy emphasis on religion, which is out-of-step with many of the arguments against marriage equality that have come out of the Utah Attorney General’s office.

“It’s interesting that his stated motivation for the new position is not one of the arguments made by the State of Utah,” added Sainz.  “It’s fair to question whether all of the arguments they have made are just an elaborate front for some other agenda.”

Schaerr’s departure from Winston & Strawn also indicates the growing momentum for equality in that it is no longer acceptable for a major law firm to take a patently anti-gay case.