News
Carney on Michael Sam, Russia, DOJ announcement
White House ‘marvels’ at gay football player’s ‘courage’
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney addressed Michael Sam, Russia and Eric Holder’s announcement on Monday. (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas).
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Monday responded to the multiple LGBT news stories that broke over the weekend, including Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam’s decision to come out as gay.
In addition to inquiries about Sam, Carney over the course of his regular briefing fielded questions on Russia’s handling of the Olympics and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement extending rights to married same-sex couples.
In the aftermath of Sam’s decision to come out as gay and potentially be the National Football League’s first out player, the Associated Press’ Julie Pace asked if the president had any response.
Carney said he had nothing to provide directly from Obama other than to say his views are in line with the support that first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden expressed on Twitter.
“I have nothing specifically from the president at this time except to say that he shares the sentiments expressed by the first lady and the vice president and so many others in marveling at his courage, and congratulating him on the decisions he’s made, with the support he’s had from his team, and wishing him well in the future, including in professional football,” Carney said.
Asked to comment on the talk that coming out would impair Sam’s chances of finding a team, Carney said any player should be judged on his performance.
“Without having this be a reflection of the conversation with the president, I can tell you that in general that it is his view it should not have an effect,” Carney said. “Any athlete’s abilities should be measured by what — in a traditional way in terms of how he or she performs in the sport, and on the field in this case. And in this case, his performance has been exceptional.”
Following Sam’s announcement that he is gay, he fell 70 slots on CBS’ draft prospect board overnight. He’s now listed at 110, although CBS had him at 160 the next morning.
When the Washington Blade noted during the briefing that President Obama called NBA player Jason Collins on the phone last year after he came out, but apparently didn’t do the same for Sam, Carney replied, “I just don’t have any updates for you on the president.”
Asked by the Blade why Obama would reach out to Collins when he came out, but not Sam, Carney would neither confirm nor deny a phone call will take place.
“I don’t have anything on the president’s schedule right now,” Carney said.
With regard to Russian LGBT protests during the Olympics, Carney said in response to a Blade question the administration has already expressed its views on the crackdown against those in Russia.
“I think broadly speaking in terms of the matter of LGBT rights in Russia, the president has been very clear,” Carney said. “I think he was clear in his interview with Bob Costas at NBC on the evening of the opening ceremonies. So, we strongly express our views when it comes to any crackdown on those who are expressing their opinions peacefully, but I don’t have anything specific with regards to the games themselves on these matters, and our views on that matter haven’t changed.”
According to a tally in the New York Times, at least 61 individuals on the first day of the Olympics were arrested nationwide in Russia for protesting. At least 10 were arrested for demonstrating in favor of LGBT rights and say they were subjected to harsh treatment by police, including threats of sexual assault.
On Thursday, President Obama said in an interview with NBC News “there is no doubt” he included openly gay people as part of the U.S. delegation to the Olympics to demonstrate the United States doesn’t abide by discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation.
Also coming up during the briefing was Holder’s announcement that the Justice Department would extend additional rights to married same-sex couples, such as the ability to file jointly for bankruptcy and refuse to testify against a spouse in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act.
Calling the change a “substantive policy decision,” Fox News’ Ed Henry noted that Holder pledged the Justice Department would extend benefits to married same-sex couples to the furthest extent possible across the country, even in non-marriage equality states, and asked for the president’s views.
“I would refer you to the Department of Justice for specifics of that,” Carney replied.
But maintaining the announcement was “a pretty important policy announcement from the administration” Henry asked how important this policy decision was to the president.
“That American citizens enjoy equal rights?” Carney replied. “Pretty important. Profoundly so.”
Arguably as evidenced by the question from Fox News, the announcement from Holder received criticism from conservative groups and significant attention from mainstream media outlets, some of which referred to the change as “sweeping.”
Asked by the Blade if the administration was surprised by the media reaction, Carney refused to characterize the response.
“I don’t have a characterization to make about the coverage or the reaction except to say the president believes every American ought to be afforded equal rights, and he certainly supports that instance of his view, or actions taken that reflect his view in this case,” Carney said.
Politics
LGBTQ Democrats say they’re ready to fight to win in 2026
DNC winter meetings took place last weekend in Los Angeles
The Democratic National Committee held its annual winter meetings in Downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, and queer Democrats showed up with a clear message for the national organization: don’t abandon queer and transgender people.
Following last year’s disastrous presidential and congressional elections, many influential pundits and some powerful lawmakers called on Democrats to distance the party from unpopular positions on trans rights, in order to win swing districts by wooing more conservative voters.
But members of the DNC’s LGBTQ Caucus say that’s actually a losing strategy.
“There are still parts of our party saying we need to abandon trans people in order to win elections, which is just not provable, actually. It’s just some feelings from some old consultants in DC,” LGBTQ Caucus Chair Sean Meloy says.
Some national Democrats are already backtracking from suggestions that they walk back on trans rights.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom grabbed national attention in March when he suggested that it was “deeply unfair” for trans girls to play in women’s sports. But last week, he doubled down on support for trans rights, claiming to have signed more trans-rights legislation than any governor in the country, and entering into feuds on X with Elon Musk and Nicki Minaj over his support for trans kids.
Democrats are also clearly feeling the wind in their sails recently after major election victories in Virginia and New Jersey last month, as well as victories in dozens of local and state legislative elections across the country in 2025.
“[Abigail] Spanberger in Virginia didn’t win by dodging the trans question. She won by attacking it, confronting it, and that’s how she got ahead,” says Vivian Smotherman, a trans activist and at-large member of the DNC’s LGBTQ Caucus.
“Trans people are not a problem. We are a resource,” Smotherman says. “For my community, surviving into adulthood is not a guarantee, it’s an accomplishment. You don’t walk through a survival gauntlet without learning things … I’m not begging the DNC to protect my community. I’m here to remind you that we are the warriors tempered by fire, and we are fully capable of helping this party win.”
At its own meeting on Friday, the LGBTQ Caucus announced several new initiatives to ensure that queer and trans issues stay top of mind for the DNC as it gears up for the midterm elections next year.
One plan is to formalize the DNC’s Trans Advisory Board as distinct from the LGBTQ Caucus, to help introduce candidates across the country to trans people and trans issues.
“One in three people in this country know a trans person. Two-thirds of Americans don’t think they do,” Smotherman says. “So the real problem is not being trans, it’s that you don’t know us. You cannot authentically support a trans person if you’ve never met one.
“That’s why my first goal with this Trans Advisory Board is to host a monthly Meet a Trans Person webinar. Not as a spectacle, as a debate, but as a human connection, and I will be charging every state chair with asking every one of their candidates up and down the board if they know a trans person. And if that person doesn’t know a trans person, I’m gonna have that state chair put them on that webinar.”
The LGBTQ caucus is also opening up associate membership to allies who do not identify as LGBTQ, in order to broaden support and connections over queer issues.
It’s also preparing for the inevitable attacks Republicans will throw at queer candidates and supporters of LGBTQ issues.
“These attacks are going to come. You have to budget money proactively. You have to be ready to fight,” Meloy says. “There are some local party chairs who don’t want to recruit LGBTQ candidates to run because these issues might come up, right? That’s an absolutely ludicrous statement, but there are still people who need support in how to be ready and how to respond to these things that inevitably come.”
“The oldest joke is that Democrats don’t have a spine. And when they come after us, and we do not reply, we play right into that.”
Meloy also alluded to anti-LGBTQ tropes that queer people are out to harm children, and said that Democrats should be prepared to make the case that it’s actually Republicans who are protecting child abusers – for example, by suppressing the Epstein files.
“They are weak on this issue. Take the fight, empower your parties to say, ‘These people have nothing to stand on,’” Meloy says.
Local
LGBTQ, LGBTQ-friendly congregations to hold holiday services
Bet Mishpachah’s Hanukkah service to take place on Friday
LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly congregations in D.C. will hold services and other events throughout the holiday season.
Bet Mishpachah on Friday will hold its Sparks in the Dark Happy Hour at Spark Social on 14th Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. It’s Chanuka Shabbat Service will begin at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m.
Hanukkah began on Sunday and will end on Dec. 22.
Two gunmen on Sunday killed 15 people and injured more than two dozen others when they opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Jake Singer-Beilin, Bet Mishpachah’s chief rabbi, in a Facebook post mourned the victims.
“We grieve for the victims and send heartfelt prayers of healing for those who were wounded,” he wrote.
“This Chanuka, our lights will shine brightly in the darkness, but our hearts will be heavy with mourning for those who were murdered on Bondi Beach while observing what should have been a joyous day,” added Singer-Beilin. “We will still celebrate our Festival of Lights and we will commit ourselves to illuminating and repairing our broken world. Let us channel the bravery of the Maccabees who found hope where there seemed to be none, and who fought to create a better future. We must do the same.”
LGBTQ Catholic group to hold annual Christmas Day Mass
Dignity Washington’s Christmas Day Mass will take place at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church (1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on Dec. 25 from 6-7 p.m. Parishioners can attend in person or watch it online via Facebook.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C.’s Christmas Eve service will take place at the church (474 Ridge St., N.W., on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church (1517 18th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist from 5-6 p.m. A Christmas Eve dinner will take place in the Parish Hall from 6-8:30 p.m. The church’s Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist will occur on Dec. 25 from 10-11 a.m.
Washington National Cathedral throughout the holiday season has a number of services and events scheduled. These include the virtual Gospel Christmas Service on Dec. 21 from 6-7:30 p.m., the Family Christmas Service on Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to noon, the Christmas Eve Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 24 from 10-11:45 p.m., and the Christmas Day Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 25 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Family Service on Dec. 24 at 4:30 p.m. Its Carols and Candlelight Service will take place at 8 p.m.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum to celebrate Kwanzaa
The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (1901 Fort Place S.E.) in Anacostia will mark the first day of Kwanzaa on Dec. 26 with storytelling and drumming with Mama Ayo and Baba Ras D from noon to 2 p.m. The museum will hold a series of other events through the 6-day celebration of African American culture that ends on Jan. 1.
The Creative Suitland Arts Center (4719 Silver Hill Road) in Suitland, Md., on Friday will hold their Almost Kwanzaa: A Creative Kind of Holiday event from 6-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
Joseline Peña-Melnyk elected Md. House speaker
Family immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic
By PAMELA WOOD | Moments after being elected speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Tuesday, state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk stood before the chamber and contemplated her unlikely journey to that moment.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the Peña family lived in a small wooden house with a leaky tin roof and no indoor plumbing. Some days, she said, there was no food to eat.
When she was 8 years old, the family immigrated to New York City, where Peña-Melnyk was dubbed “abogadito” or “little lawyer” for helping her mother and others by translating at social services offices.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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