Gay Marriage Debate Comes To Proskauer Rose

Legal analyst and pop-culture sycophant Russell Wetanson has been running a fairly aggressive campaign against California’s Proposition 8. The measure would ban gay marriages in California, as we have discussed before.

Wetanson sent around the following email to subscribers to his blog:

No On Prop 8. No On Prop 8. No On Prop 8.

If you think everyone agrees with this or understands the proposition, you are wrong. The evil Yes On 8 people have raised way too much money, so No On Prop 8 needs your help to keep running ads and make sure that civil rights guaranteed by the California Constitution are not stripped away by a vote.

Not surprisingly, the “evil” line produced some pretty angry responses to Wetanson, including one from a senior Proskauer Rose associate:

Russell: Easy on the “evil Yes on 8 people” – as you may or may not know I am one of them and my girlfriend [Redacted] – so unless you actually think we are evil I think it goes a little over the top to call people names (especially in support of a campaign that purports to fight against bigotry).

Though I am sure I will not change your mind I will remind you that Prop 8 will not take any substantive rights away from any individuals as California law already provides domestic partners all of the rights that can be provided under state law to same sex couples (and we both know Prop 8 does not impact federal law). On the other hand keeping the law as it was judicially modified by 4 judges who overturn 62% of Californian’s will impacts far more than those who wish to enter into a committed relationship as it impacts the requirements of educational system and potential the rights of religious organizations. This is not a doomsday prediction, it is already happening as state funds are being used to proselytize to 1st graders http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/11/MNFG13F1VG.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1.

All I am saying is adults can disagree (as you and I have responsibly for years) and while this can be an emotional issue for both sides, name calling is a little beyond you.

A reasonable response (though I disagree that taking a field trip to see a teacher get married is tantamount to “proselytizing first graders”).

After the jump, was the firm email account really the best way to communicate this message?

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Though we at ATL have redacted out various identifying information about the Proskauer associate, his original email to Wetanson did no such thing. His name and firm affiliation are prominent in his counterargument.

Was that wise?

Because it gets us right back into the Orrick problem we explored a couple of weeks ago. Should gay and lesbian associates feel differently towards colleagues who promote “Yes On 8” views?

It seems a bit hypocritical to advocate tolerance of non-traditional marriages while at the same time acting intolerant towards expressions of alternate views. But should these views — on either side — be committed to (virtual) law firm stationery? We imagine a firm like Proskauer, well known for its labor and employment law practice, would stay far, far away from taking any position on Prop 8.

Nobody is going to get fired or reprimanded for taking a position on Prop 8, but it’s worth remembering that lots of people are watching,

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Earlier: Orrick’s Internal Battle Over Proposition 8