Heather Sawyer, Democratic counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, spoke Aug. 26 at a luncheon that the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the law firm Mayer Brown hosted. The former Lambda Legal senior attorney shared stories from her time on the Hill and talked about the future of LGBT-related legislation.
Despite nursing a painful injury, Sawyer was all smiles at the event. She eagerly greeted former colleagues and Lambda Legal donors, while a group of about 25 guests enjoyed a complimentary lunch at Mayer Brown’s high-rise Loop office building at 71 S. Wacker Drive.
Lambda Legal Midwest Regional Director Jim Bennett introduced Sawyer, jokingly calling her “the most popular lesbian that has ever come out of Chicago.” He then presented Sawyer with a year’s worth of Lambda Legal T-shirts—one for each event the nonprofit hosted.
In her capacity as House counsel, Sawyer oversees the Judiciary Committee’s efforts to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act’s (DOMA’s) constitutionality. She also acts as lead counsel for U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s Respect for Marriage Act, the bill to repeal DOMA.
While Sawyer doesn’t think DOMA will be overturned under the current Congress, she remains optimistic. “The way that people talk about gay families has so changed over the years that it has made the conversation one that it is clearly a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if,'” she said. “I think for a long time there was a question of: Will this ever happen? Now it’s a question of: When?”
Sawyer also works to garner congressional support for ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) legislation. Citing a poll that says 89 percent of U.S. residents support the bill, Sawyer said it would undoubtedly pass under a different Congress.
Since joining the House Judiciary Committee in 2007, Sawyer acted as lead counsel on significant civil-rights legislation, including the 2008 ADA Amendments Act and the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.