The ABA commemorated LGBTQ Pride Month and Loving Day in June with a special event featuring former U.S Solicitor General and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Ted Olson.
Olson described his role in successfully challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban (Proposition 8) in federal district and circuit in California. The Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that those appealing the lower court decision did not have standing to appeal. Within two years, the Supreme Court issued a decision that the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry is guaranteed under the Constitution.
The celebration also marked the Supreme Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), which struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
Appearing with Olson (left) at the event was Zakiyyah Salim-Williams, the chief diversity officer at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.