$500k to defend discrimination (oh, and it's your money)

	Earlier this week the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives — including Speaker of the House John Boehner — announced that it has hired a lawyer to defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In between sound bites calling for budgetary restraint and a near government shut down, Congressional leaders have found a way to carve out at least $500,000 to defend a law that the Attorney General has declared unconstitutional. Keep the budget of equality strong: Make a gift today! There is no room in the budget to defend discrimination! Make a special No Defense for DOMA gift today! Lambda Legal recently filed an amended complaint with the federal district court in Northern California in Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, our case challenging the constitutionality of DOMA. While we don’t know yet whether Golinski will be challenged directly by the House leadership, our attorneys are taking no chances. We’ve been part of the fight against DOMA since it was first proposed in 1996 — we didn’t back down against the Attorney General (or several Presidents for that matter) and we certainly won’t back down from the House leadership or its new lawyer. Keep the momentum going: Make a special No Defense for DOMA gift today! For more than 37 years Lambda Legal has been on the front lines defending the legal rights of LGBT people and those with HIV. Our landmark cases have set the legal precedent that many of our movements’ recent victories are built on — including the decision by the Attorney General to cease defending DOMA. We receive no government funding; the support of our members has kept our work in the courts and in the court of public opinion and woven this important story into the history of this country. Thank you in advance for your generosity at this time Make a gift at: http://www.lambdalegal.org/no-defense With warm regards, Kevin M. Cathcart Executive Director P.S. Our lawyers are currently studying the retainer contract prepared by the House leadership. What we have found so far is not only antigay and financially undisciplined, it is un-American and un-democratic. Stay tuned for further emails about what we find and how you can take action against the House leaderships’ effort to defend DOMA. Today, we urge you to make a gift to help keep the fight going!