National
Appeals court stays Prop 8 ruling
Same-sex marriages in Calif. on hold during appeal
A federal appeals court has reversed a decision last week by a lower court judge to lift the stay on his Aug. 4 ruling overturning Proposition 8, dashing the hopes of same-sex couples in California to quickly regain their right to marry.
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday granted a request by supporters of Prop 8 to keep the stay in place until the completion of their appeal, which is expected to continue through December.
In their two-page order, the judges said only, “Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of Aug. 4, 2010 pending appeal is granted.”
They were referring to the Aug. 4 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker declaring Prop 8’s ban on same-sex marriage null and void because it violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses.
But in an action viewed as favorable to same-sex marriage advocates, the appeals court judges also ordered that the case move forward on an expedited basis, setting strict deadlines for lawyers on both sides to file their briefs between September and November. They directed that arguments before the court would take place during the week of Dec. 6.
The action by appeals court judges Sidney Thomas, Michael Hawkins, and Edward Leavy reversed an Aug. 12 decision by Walker to lift a stay that he put in place nine days earlier.
Rather than allow same-sex marriages to resume in the state immediately upon issuing his Aug. 4 decision, Walker placed a stay on his own ruling, saying he wanted to give supporters and opponents of Prop 8 a chance to submit briefs arguing why a stay should or should not be kept in place during the appeal process.
After considering the arguments, Walker ruled Aug. 12 that a stay was not justified because allowing same-sex marriage to resume would not cause any harm to the state or its people. But he extended his stay to Aug. 18 to give the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals a chance to decide the matter.
Unlike Walker, who issued an 11-page ruling explaining why he believed the stay should be lifted, the appeals court panel gave no explanation for its action.
However, while it rejected Walker’s decision to lift the stay, the appeals court panel appears to have given credence to Walker’s assertion in his Aug. 12 ruling that Prop 8 supporters may not have legal standing to appeal the case.
Walker noted in his Aug. 12 ruling that called for lifting the stay that the State of California may have sole legal standing to appeal a case like the one involving Prop 8. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, have refused to defend Prop 8, forcing private advocates backing the same-sex marriage ban law to defend it in court.
Schwarzenegger and Brown have said they also oppose an appeal of Walker’s decision overturning Prop 8 and that the state would not be a party to the appeal.
“In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing,” the appeals court panel noted in its ruling Monday.
Officials with the California-based American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the lawsuit by two same-sex couples that led to Walker’s decision to overturn Prop 8, sought to put an optimistic spin on the appeals court’s decision Monday to keep the stay in place.
“This means that although Californians who were denied equality by Proposition 8 cannot marry immediately, the Ninth Circuit, like the district court, will move swiftly to address and decide the merits of plaintiffs’ claims on their merits,” the group said in a statement.
Ted Olson, one of the two attorneys that argued for overturning Prop 8 at the district court trial earlier this year, called the expedited appeals court schedule significant.
“We are very gratified that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the importance and pressing nature of this case and the need to resolve it as quickly as possibly by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule,” he said.
But one of the attorneys that defended Prop 8 in court had a different assessment of Monday’s decision to keep the stay in place.
“It made no sense to impose a radical change in marriage on the people of California before all appeals on their behalf are heard,” said Jim Campbell, litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. “Refusing to stay the decision would only have created more legal confusion surrounding any same-sex unions entered while the appeal is pending. … ADF and the rest of the legal team is confident that the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld.”
Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a same-sex marriage advocacy group, called the appeals court action “a disappointing delay for many Californians who hoped to celebrate the freedom to marry and full inclusion in society as soon as possible.”
Wolfson said that while the lawyers representing same-sex couples continue to argue the case in court, “we have more months in which to make our case in the court of public opinion.”
Rev. Anthony Evans, a D.C. minister and one of the leaders of the campaign to oppose same-sex marriage in Washington, said the appeals court’s action reflects “the will of the people and the word of God,” which he said “will prevail.”
National
BREAKING NEWS: Shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Shooter reportedly opened fire inside hotel
Four loud bangs were heard in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, a shooter opened fire inside the hotel outside the ballroom.
Attendees could hear four loud bangs as people started to duck and take cover. During the chaos sounds of salad and glasses were dropped as hotel employees, and guests ducked for cover.
The head table — which included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump, and White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang — were rushed off stage.
“The U.S. Secret Service, in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department, is investigating a shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement. “The president and the First Lady are safe along all protects. One individual is in custody. The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation.”
Trump held a press conference at the White House after he left the hotel.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service,” said Trump.
Trump said the shooter is from California. He also said an officer was shot, but said his bullet proof vest “saved” him.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, interim D.C. police chief Jeffrey Carroll, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, and other officials held their own press conference at the hotel.
Carroll said the gunman was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and “multiple” knives when he charged a Secret Service checkpoint in a hotel lobby. Carroll also told reporters that law enforcement “exchanged gunfire with that individual.”
Both he and Bowser said the gunman appeared to act alone.
“We are so very thankful to members of law enforcement who did their jobs tonight and made sure all guests were safe,” said Bowser. “Nobody else was involved.”
The Washington Blade will update this story as details become more available.
State Department
State Department implements anti-trans bathroom policy
Memo notes directive corresponds with White House executive order
The State Department on April 20 announced employees cannot use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
The Daily Signal, a conservative news website, reported the State Department announced the new policy in a memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms.”
The State Department has not responded to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the directive.
“The administration affirms that there are two sexes — male and female — and that federal facilities should operate on this objective and longstanding basis to ensure consistency, privacy, and safety in shared spaces,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot told the Daily Signal. “In line with President Trump’s executive order this provides clear, uniform guidance to the department by grounding policy in biological sex as determined at birth.”
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. The sweeping directive also ordered federal government agencies to “effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.”
The Daily Signal notes the new State Department policy “does not prohibit single-occupancy restrooms.”
National
I’m telling the scared little girl I once was it’s okay to feel free
This week is Lesbian Visibility Week
Uncloseted Media published this article on April 23.
By SOPHIE HOLLAND | At 13 years old, I remember looking in the mirror in my Toronto bathroom and thinking, “Yeah, I’m a lesbian.” At the time, I thought it was a dirty word. Thinking back, it could be because the first time I heard it was when a family member said, “I don’t know what a lesbian is, they are like aliens.”
And although I walked around in camouflage Crocs with a rainbow My Little Pony charm, plaid knee-length shorts and a shark tooth necklace (yes, these are all, in my opinion, stereotypically lesbian apparel!), I didn’t feel like I fit the mold. The longer I thought about it, the worse I felt, so I buried my feelings deep inside.
Now I am 25, and I have been out since I was 22. Three years ago, I never could have imagined that I’d be working for a queer news publication and celebrating Lesbian Visibility Week, an annual event meant to honor and uplift lesbian perspectives and highlight the hardships our community faces. To me, LVW is so important because, frankly, it has been an absolute shit show getting here, to a place where I feel love and joy most days.
I think back to the frustration of constantly being asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?” Of watching princess movies and seeing a broken girl only find herself when her prince charming arrives. I remember listening to music that was always about heterosexual relationships. I remember feeling left out in high school when, one by one, my friends got boyfriends.
I tried the boyfriend, and I tried really hard for it to work at a large detriment to my wellbeing. I brainwashed myself into thinking I was probably bisexual, which I told my closest friends around 16 and unsuccessfully told my parents at the same age. I was probably subconsciously using this as a litmus test of their acceptance and to soothe the anxiety I felt around my sexuality.
Learning to love who I am did not only come from me unraveling my internalized lesbophobia and dissecting the oppressive societal messages of heteronormativity. It came from meeting an awesome community of lesbians and queers. I found people who understood my worldview and who showed me the ropes. I no longer had to stutter over concepts like lesbian loneliness or my frustration with misogynistic straight men.
They all just got it.
Without this community, I am not sure if I could be as warm and confident in myself as I am today.
And while I still experience homophobia, like being spat on while walking with an ex in downtown Toronto or having a stranger yell in my face “Are you fucking lesbians?” in Kensington Market, the joy and love still outweighs the nasty.
So, as the sentimental dyke that I have become, I decided to ask a set of lesbians in my orbit — including my friends as well as Uncloseted staffers, board members and followers — if they would share a little bit about what makes them love being a lesbian. And now, I can share it with all of you. Here they are. Happy LVW!
Timi Sotire
Falling in love with her was a reset. I felt like a kid again, hopeful about the future. We’ve had to overcome many obstacles to be together, but I’d choose her in every lifetime. I was sick with a long-term health condition when we met, and hanging out with Sophia really helped me with my recovery after my surgery.
Bella Sayegh
Being a lesbian is one of the most beautiful things in the world. To be authentically yourself in resistance and joy is so special within the lesbian community.
Parker Wales
When I met Liv, I finally understood why almost every song is about love.
Gillian Kilgour
There is no connection quite as perfect as between lesbians, no one sees me like my lesbians do.
Chyna Price
There’s many things I love about being a lesbian. But here are my top three:
- There’s just a deeper understanding when it comes to being loved by another woman.
- The next one would be the sense of community, especially being a POC masculine-presenting lesbian. I don’t feel like I’m cosplaying as someone else like I felt like I was doing before I came out.
- There’s so much history going back to the 1800s on how we found and fought for our love. That fight makes me proud because it shows me … that we’ve [found] ways to express our love even when it was misunderstood, illegal and deemed as madness.
Hope Pisoni
Before I knew I was a lesbian, romantic relationships seemed suffocating — it felt like everyone would expect me to act my part in the meticulous performance that is heterosexuality. But meeting my spouse and discovering our identities together showed me just how freeing it could be to love without a script to follow.
Leital Molad
It was the joy of watching the New York Sirens defeat the Toronto Sceptres at our first professional women’s hockey game — surrounded by hundreds (maybe thousands?) of cheering lesbians.
Angela Earl
I spent years building a life that looked right. But I never felt settled, and eventually I started asking what would actually make me happy. Coming out was about more than who I love, it was letting go of everything I was told to be. The last few years have felt like coming home to a life that had been waiting for me.
Tali Bray
What I love about being a lesbian is what I love about being in love … the wonder and joy of “oh, this is what it’s supposed to feel like.” I love moving through the world with women.
Izzy Stokes
I didn’t fall in love until I realized that queerness was an option. My queer friends have helped me see so much more than I grew up seeing. I’m so proud of us, and I’m so grateful for my lesbian community.
Nandika Chatterjee
When I met my fiancée is when I started to feel most like myself. That meant loving myself for who I am and embracing my identity as a lesbian. I felt free in a way I have never before. That’s the long and short of it.
Liz Lucking
The love and joy of being a lesbian is getting to live the life I dreamed of but never thought I would get to have!
Reflections
As I read these beautiful entries, it’s not lost on me that we’re still living in a world where lesbians are more likely to struggle with maternity problems, fetishization, and compulsory heterosexuality — not to mention the intersectional pressures of racism from both inside and outside the queer community. That’s part of why, according to a 2024 survey, 22 percent of LGBTQ women have attempted suicide, and 66 percent have sought treatment for trauma.
So if you are a lesbian who isn’t out or doesn’t feel safe, I hope you read this and can glean some hope from these messages. So when you look in the mirror, you know that it’s okay to release the weight — which can feel so heavy — of a heteronormative world.
We still have a long fight until all lesbians can feel safe to be themselves, but this is a community that does not back away from the tough, from the joy, from being loud and from all the other things that it takes to start a small revolution.
Hell yeah, lesbians! Here’s to you.
*I am signing off with my cat on my lap and a pride flag over my head <3.
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