With oral arguments in same-sex marriage cases looming at the U.S. Supreme Court this spring, a notable milestone was marked last month: it was the first time, apparently, that a group of openly identified gay lawyers was sworn into the Supreme Court bar. It happened with little fanfare January 22, when 30 members of the National LGBT Bar Association were identified with the organization’s name by court clerk William Suter as he announced their admission.
“A lot of us wanted to applaud,” said association executive director D’Arcy Kemnitz. Gay lawyers have argued at the court and been admitted to the bar individually for years, but “we feel confident” that the ceremony marked the first time that a group whose name identified them as such was sworn in, she said. Paul Smith of Jenner & Block made the motion for admission. He said afterward that the ceremony sent the message that “here is a group of openly gay lawyers.”
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