GOP Contract Bars King & Spalding Staffers From Supporting Same-Sex Marriage

Over at Metro Weekly, Chris Geidner unearths an interesting stipulation in the GOP's contract with King & Spalding, the legal firm hired to defend DOMA.

All of King & Spalding's employees – lawyers and non-lawyers – are barred from advocating for the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act – in the 112th Congress, according to the terms of the contract to defend DOMA that King & Spalding partner Paul Clement signed on the firm's behalf on April 14. The contract, which was entered into with U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel Kerry Kircher on behalf of the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend DOMA in court, contains a provision that prohibits all King & Spalding attorneys and non-attorney employees from any advocacy to "alter or amend" DOMA.

HRC's Fred Sainz: "This particular provision adds insult to injury. Not only is K&S promoting discrimination, they also are muzzling their own employees from opposing discrimination and doing what's right."

RELATED: As I noted here last week, King & Spalding last year earned a 95% positive rating from the Human Rights Campaign and trumpets their devotion to LGBT equality on their corporate website.