The prestigious law firm King & Spalding has not fully explained its decision this week to stop assisting Congress in defending the law that forbids federal recognition of same-sex marriage. But its reversal suggests the extent to which gay men and lesbians have persuaded much of the legal profession to accept the basic proposition that sexual orientation is irrelevant to a person's worth and that the law should reflect this judgment. The decision cannot be dismissed simply as a matter of political correctness or bullying by gays. Gay-rights supporters have transformed the law and the legal profession, opening the doors of law firms, law schools and courts to people who were once casually and cruelly shut out because of their sexual orientation

While we can't promise that you won't have any problems, you do have laws that protect your right to take the date of your choice to the prom. Prom time should be one of your best memories of your high school years—when you step onto the dance floor, you're not supposed to be stepping onto a battlefield. But as you're probably aware, that's what's happened in a handful of recent cases when teens have shown up with a same-sex prom date.

Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart writes: "Amid all the drama of the last few days with a law firm accepting then rejecting the ugly contract offered by the House leadership to defend DOMA in court, we should not lose sight of the real issues: First, DOMA is discriminatory, unconstitutional and indefensible. Second, House leaders are not only willing to spend taxpayers' money defending DOMA—they are also trying to silence debate.

Today, Lambda Legal announced that Iván Espinoza-Madrigal has been hired as staff attorney in its national headquarters in New York. Espinoza-Madrigal is developing an initiative on behalf of LGBT people of color, LGBT immigrants, and low-income LGBT communities. In this capacity, he will be expanding Lambda Legal's work addressing the legal needs of LGBT and HIV-affected people who identify across intersecting lines of race, ethnicity and socio-economic class through litigation, public education, and policy advocacy.

In reaction to today's filing of a motion to vacate last year's historic decision by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker declaring California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, Jon Davidson, Legal Director for Lambda Legal, issued the following statement: Proponents of Proposition 8 certainly are getting desperate. This reeks of a hail-Mary attempt to assail Judge Walker's character because they are unable to rebut the extremely well-reasoned ruling he issued last year. It's becoming a sadly typical move of the right: don't like the ruling; attack the referee.

"A prominent law firm hired by Republican lawmakers to defend the federal ban on gay marriage said Monday it was withdrawing from the case amid criticism by advocacy groups, prompting the partner leading the work to quit...

"Jon Davidson, the legal director of the gay-rights group Lambda Legal, said 'we welcome the firm back to the right side of history.'"

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Law firm King & Spalding announced Monday it will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives. Afterward, Paul Clement, the partner who had taken the case, announced he intends to defend the law with another firm.

In reaction to the news that the law firm King & Spalding has withdrawn from representing House leadership in cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Legal Director Jon Davidson.

(Burlington,VT April 22, 2011) -As just reported in the Rutland Herald (pay site), there has been an arrest in the custody case involving former civil union partners Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller, and their daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins. Lisa did not comply with a court order to transfer custody of Isabella to Janet on January 1, 2010.

"Members of the LGBT legal community are seriously considering breaking ties with the firm King & Spalding in light of this week's news that one of its partners, former Bush Solicitor General Paul Clement, has signed on to defend the federal ban on same-sex marriage on behalf of House Republicans.

"Jon Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal organization working for LGBT equality, had one word on the firm's decision to take the case: 'Depressing.'