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Bloggers target HRC in push for ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal

Published

16 years ago

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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“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has to be repealed this year,” says the statement.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.”

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Pennsylvania

Pa. House passes bill to codify marriage equality in state law

Governor supports gay state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta’s measure

Published

10 hours ago

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March 26, 2026

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Pennsylvania Capitol Building (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would codify marriage equality in state law.

House Bill 1800 passed by a 127-72 vote margin. Twenty-six Republicans voted for the measure.

The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate will now consider the bill that state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), who is the first openly gay person of color elected to the state’s General Assembly, introduced. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the measure.

“Here in Pennsylvania, we believe in your freedom to marry who you love,” said Shapiro on Wednesday. “Today, the House has stepped up to protect that right.”

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Florida

DeSantis signs emergency bill that restores Fla. ADAP funding

Temporary funds to last through June 30

Published

1 day ago

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March 25, 2026

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Screen capture/NBC News)

After the Florida Department of Health made huge cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in January, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed emergency legislation restoring HIV access to more than 12,000 Floridians.

Two months ago, as the Washington Blade reported, the Sunshine State cut the vast majority of those in ADAP by shifting the income levels required for eligibility — without following standard procedure when changing government policy outside of legislative or executive action.

The bill, signed by DeSantis on Tuesday, passed both chambers of the Florida Legislature unanimously and appropriates $30.9 million in emergency bridge funding through June 30, 2026. It restores Florida’s ADAP income eligibility to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level — the level it was prior to the January cuts. The legislation also requires the FDOH to submit detailed monthly financial reports to legislative leadership beginning April 1.

Under the old policy, eligibility would have been limited to those making no more than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or $20,345 per year.

“For 10 weeks, 12,000 Floridians living with HIV did not know if they could fill their next prescription. Today, they can,” Esteban Wood, director of advocacy and legislative affairs at AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement.

The detailed reports now required to be sent to legislative leadership must include all federal revenues and expenditures, including manufacturer rebates; enrollment figures by county and insurance status; prescription utilization by drug class; and any projected funding shortfalls. This is the first time the Legislature has required this level of financial transparency from the program.

DeSantis signed the legislation one day after a Leon County Circuit Court judge denied AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s request for an injunction to block the significant changes the DeSantis administration is making to the program, which it claims faces a $120 million shortfall for calendar year 2026.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a national organization focused on protecting and expanding HIV healthcare access and prevention methods, filed a lawsuit over the change in eligibility, arguing the Florida Department of Health did not follow the laid out path for formally changing policy and was acting outside established procedures.

Typically, altering eligibility for a statewide program requires either legislative action or adherence to a multistep rule-making process, including: publishing a Notice of Proposed Rule; providing a statement of estimated regulatory costs; allowing public comment; holding hearings if requested; responding to challenges; and formally adopting the rule. According to AIDS Healthcare Foundation, none of these steps occurred.

The long-term structure of ADAP will be determined by the 2026–2027 fiscal year state budget, something that lawmakers have until June 30 to finish.

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Federal Government

Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary

Okla. senator to succeed Kristi Noem

Published

2 days ago

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March 24, 2026

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The U.S. Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the next secretary of Homeland Security on Monday, as the agency continues to grapple with what lawmakers have described as a “never-ending” funding standoff, with Democrats attempting to withhold funding from one of the nation’s largest and most costly agencies.

Mullin — a Republican senator from Oklahoma, former mixed martial arts fighter, and plumbing business owner — was confirmed in a 54–45 vote. Two Democrats — U.S. Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — sided with Republicans in supporting his confirmation.

The new agency head is expected to follow the policy direction set by President Donald Trump, emphasizing stricter immigration enforcement. This includes proposals to support immigration agents at polling sites and to cut funding to so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Mullin replaces Kristi Noem, who was fired earlier this month following a widely scrutinized 2-day congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

During the hearing, Noem faced intense questioning over her response to several crises, including the fatal shooting of two American citizens in Minneapolis by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, a $220 million border security advertising campaign that featured her on horseback near Mount Rushmore amid one of the largest federal workforce reductions in U.S. history, and the federal response to major natural disasters such as the July 2025 Texas floods and Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Noem had previously drawn criticism for a series of policy decisions in South Dakota that broadly focused on restricting the rights of LGBTQ individuals. In 2023, she signed House Bill 1080, banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. She also signed legislation and executive orders restricting trans athletes’ participation in women’s sports, as well as the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which critics argued enabled discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Additionally, the state canceled contracts related to LGBTQ support services — including suicide prevention and health care navigation programs‚ and later agreed to a $300,000 settlement with trans advocacy group, The Transformation Project.

Despite her removal from DHS, Noem will remain in the Trump-Vance administration as a special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas,” an initiative aimed at promoting U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, including efforts to counter cartel networks, reduce Chinese influence, and manage migration.

The new head of DHS has served in Congress since 2013, in both houses of the federal legislature. While in the Senate and a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Mullin has been a vocal critic of policies aimed at expanding LGBTQ inclusion. He led a group of lawmakers in urging the Administration for Community Living to reverse a rule requiring states to prioritize Older Americans Act services based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the policy could have unintended consequences.

Mullin also makes history as the first Native American — and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation — to lead the Department of Homeland Security. He was also among the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results despite no evidence of widespread fraud, and was present in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber on Jan. 6.

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