ADF Senior VP; Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb writes:
A half a century ago, the United States lent a hand to the struggling nation of South Vietnam as its freedom was threatened by the Communist North Vietnamese regime and its Viet Cong allies. But by the mid-70s, the war whimpered to defeat: radical leftists won the day and the so-called “peace” movement forced American withdrawal and the inevitable, bloody collapse of South Vietnam.
Tens of thousands were slaughtered and more imprisoned in “re-education camps” as victorious Communists spread their brand of “freedom” through the land. And at the same time, thousands of freedom-loving South Vietnamese fled the country.
Most fled by boat, in harrowing ventures across the open sea to an uncertain fate—all the more uncertain as would-be host nations often turned back the “boat people,” or made their lives intentionally miserable to discourage others.
Among those refuges was 10-year-old Viet D. Dinh, who, through Providence and perseverance, found himself in America—and more amazingly, not living from hand to mouth but serving his new homeland as the senior partner in the esteemed firm of Bancroft Associates.
So what does a former “boat boy” turned attorney have to do with saving marriage? The answer is rooted in President Obama’s flip-flop on marriage, where he abandoned his campaign promises and decided that marriage between one man and one woman is somehow unconstitutional—then told the Department of Justice stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. In response, the House of Representatives acted to defend DOMA itself.
To that end, House leaders hired Paul Clement, a noted Supreme Court lawyer at the “big law” firm of King and Spalding, to present the case for marriage in court. But within a few days, homosexual activists leaned on the firm so hard that it turned tail and bailed out of the case.
But Mr. Clement did not flee with his firm. Instead, he resigned his position so that he may continue to represent the House and give voice to the pro-marriage arguments. And he did so as firmly as he did graciously, in a letter of resignation that profiles moral courage.
But a lawyer alone is still a lawyer alone. On a case like this, he needs help—a host of professional colleagues—with whom to go to war.
And with delicious, made-in-America irony, it was a refugee from the war lost by the American left—Mr. Viet D. Dinh—who welcomed Paul Clement to Bancroft Associates—who will be his “band of brothers” in this battle against the left’s effort to redefine marriage.
ADF commends Paul for his principled decision, and honors Mr. Dinh for enabling the defense of marriage—that unique bonding of a man and a woman, hopefully for life, that provides the procreative potential and nurturing that undergirds every civilization. Defending marriage is a high calling—and it certainly looks like the best and brightest have answered that call!
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