National
Bloggers target HRC in push for ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal
Amid fears that momentum on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is slipping, advocates are pressuring the Human Rights Campaign to demand that President Obama publicly call for repeal this year.
A group of bloggers — led by John Aravosis of Americablog — are asking readers to flood HRC’s phone lines and e-mail inboxes with messages that Obama needs to publicly specify he wants Congress to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year and take the lead in working with lawmakers to ensure repeal happens.
Other bloggers who’ve joined the effort are Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend, Andy Towle of Towleroad.com and gay activist David Mixner.
The bloggers say on their web sites they’re targeting HRC because it’s the most prominent and best-funded LGBT rights organization and it has the greatest access to the White House.
During his State of the Union address late month, Obama pledged to work this year with Congress and military leaders to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but didn’t specify a time for when he wanted repeal to happen. Efforts for repeal got a boost shortly thereafter when Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen endorsed open service in testimony before Congress.
But in the short time since then, it’s become less clear whether Congress could achieve repeal this year. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she wasn’t sure whether the House would pass repeal legislation, and moderate members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have expressed support for the Pentagon’s review of the law without backing outright repeal.
The Politico recently reported that while supporters of repeal in Congress were excited about Obama’s State of the Union announcement, the White House hasn’t followed up with guidance on the issue.
Aravosis said he hopes the blogger initiative will restore momentum for repeal and prompt HRC to “stand up to the president and call him on the fact that he’s not doing enough.”
HRC issued an organizational response to the initiative, saying its goals are the same that have been outlined by the bloggers, which include pushing for full repeal this year.
“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has to be repealed this year,” says the statement. “That has been the Human Rights Campaign’s position from the start, and at this point there is no one in the White House who does not know it. We and the community to whom we are accountable agree: this is the year.”
HRC says it supports including repeal as part of the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill while at the same time supporting the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, standalone legislation that would end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and replace it with a non-discrimination policy.
Obama has committed to repeal, HRC says, but has also made clear that votes in Congress are needed before an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” can happen.
“We have been lobbying the White House relentlessly and we’ve seen more movement in recent weeks than in the previous 16 years,” HRC says. “Our nation’s top defense officials testified, before the Senate Armed Services Committee, that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ should be repealed. That did not happen in a vacuum. These events are just the start. There is a clear path to repeal, and that’s the one we’re on.”
But Aravosis said HRC’s statement is “actually a little dangerous” and the idea that HRC has “conveyed the message and, ‘We’ve had hearings so everything is on track,’ is absurd.”
“No one in town agrees with them,” he said. “The Hill is telling us that the White House is not telling them what to do, and that’s why they’re not moving ahead — because they don’t know what to do about whether they should or shouldn’t repeal this year.”
Aravosis said the HRC statement also isn’t sufficient because it suggests that the organization has done enough and the White House understands the issue.
“This means either HRC is powerless, or they’re not trying hard enough, and that’s what’s scaring me right now,” he said. “They’re suggesting they’ve done all they can, which suggests that HRC’s influence in the White House doesn’t amount to much, and that’s scary for all of us.”
The White House declined to comment.
UPDATE
Following this article’s publication, HRC spokesperson Trevor Thomas made the following statement to DC Agenda:
“Pointing out that support for repeal from the Republican Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an incredibly important step forward is not to suggest that ‘everything is on track.’ To say that there is a clear path forward is not to suggest that path doesn’t have obstacles or that it won’t require a lot of concerted effort. We continue to press the White House in the ways that we believe are most effective and encourage others to continue pressuring the White House and Congress themselves. For every LGBT American and every ally, now is the time to contact their Representative and their two Senators and insist that [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] be repealed this year. That is what HRC is doing and that is what we are asking everyone to do.”
State Department
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
April 20 memo outlined anti-transgender rule
Democracy Forward on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records on the State Department’s new bathroom policy.
A memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms” that the State Department issued on April 20 notes employees can no longer use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“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, a conservative news website that first reported on the memo. “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.”
Democracy Forward’s FOIA request that the Washington Blade exclusively obtained on Tuesday is specifically seeking a copy of the memo that details the State Department’s new bathroom policy. Democracy Forward has also requested “all” memo-specific communications between the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs and the Daily Signal from April 1-21.
Federal Government
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Measures would restrict federal funding for LGBTQ-affirming schools
Republicans have been gaining ground in reshaping education policy to be less inclusive toward LGBTQ students at the state level, and now they are turning their focus to Capitol Hill.
Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide “Don’t Say Gay” bill, doubling down on their commitment to being the party of “traditional family values” by excluding anyone who does not identify with their sex at birth.
The largest anti-LGBTQ education legislation to reach the House chamber is House Bill 2616 — the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or the PROTECT Kids Act. The PROTECT Kids Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Robert Onder (R-Mo.), and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), would require any public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to require parental consent to change a child’s gender expression in school.
The bill, which was discussed during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing, would specifically require any schools that get federal money from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 — which was created to minimize financial discrepancies in education for low-income students — to get parental approval before identifying any child’s gender identity as anything other than what was provided to the school initially. This includes getting approval before allowing children to use their preferred locker room or bathroom.
It reads that any school receiving this funding “shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
LGBTQ rights advocates have criticized both national and state efforts to require parental permission to use a child’s preferred gender identity, as it raises issues of at-home safety — especially if the home is not LGBTQ-affirming — and could lead to the outing of transgender or gender-curious students.
A follow-up bill, HB 2617, proposed by Owens, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, prevents the use of federal funding to “advance concepts related to gender ideology,” using the definition from President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14168, making that an enshrined definition in law of sex rather than just by executive order. There is also a bill making its way through the senate with the same text— Senate Bill 2251.
Advocates have also criticized this follow-up legislation, as it would restrict school staff — including teachers and counselors — from acknowledging trans students’ identities or providing any support. They have said that this kind of isolation can worsen mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth and allows for education to be politicized rather than being based in reality.
David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of government affairs, called this legislation out for using LGBTQ children as political pawns in an ideology fight — one that could greatly harm the safety of these children if passed.
“Trans kids are not a political agenda — they are students who deserve safety and affirmation at school like anyone else,” Stacy said in a statement. “Despite the many pressing issues facing our nation, House Republicans continue their bizarre obsession with trans people. H.R. 2616 does not protect children. It targets them. This bill is cruel, and we’re prepared to fight it.”
This is similar to Florida House Bills 1557 and 1069, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “Don’t Say They” bill, respectively, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, prohibiting the use of pronouns consistent with one’s gender identity, expanding book banning procedures, and censoring health curriculum.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 233 bills related to restricting student and educator rights in the U.S.
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 who has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen 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.
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