National
National news in brief
Equality Forum asks first lady to launch GLBT History Month & more

Equality Forum asks first lady to launch GLBT History Month
WASHINGTON ā Equality Forum has invited first lady Michelle Obama to launch this yearās GLBT History Month in October.
āGLBT History Month teaches history, provides role models, builds community and celebrates the GLBT communityās national and international contributions,ā said Malcolm Lazin, Equality Forumās executive director. āThe White House celebration of GLBT History Month is an important demonstration of the administrationās support of our equality.ā
In connection with GLBT History Month, Equality Forum annually features a different icon each day at GLBTHistoryMonth.com. The project presents each icon, which this year includes such people as actress Cynthia Nixon and Houston Mayor Annise Parker, by way of video and biography.
Equality Forum noted that Obama was asked to help launch this yearās event in part because she and the White House have held celebrations for Womenās History Month, Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month.
A White House aide said the Equality Forum’s invitation would be “given careful consideration.”
Only a fourth of troops surveyed on gays respond
WASHINGTON ā The Defense Department said that only about a quarter of the troops sent a survey on gays in the military responded.
The Associated Press reported that Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said that close to 103,000 service members completed the survey, which asked questions like how they would react if assigned to a room with a gay person.
The Defense Department had delivered 400,000 surveys to troops as part of its study on how it could lift the ban without hurting morale. The deadline to respond was Sunday.
Smith said 150,000 surveys will be sent to troopsā family members later this month.
Despite early victory, aviator faces āDonāt Askā discharge
WASHINGTON ā A highly decorated gay Air Force aviator whose pending discharge under āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tellā has been highly publicized won Monday a request to temporarily prevent his expulsion from the U.S. military.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Morrison & Foerster LLP had filed the request for a temporary restraining order last week on behalf of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, according to SLDN. Fehrenbach is 13 months away from retirement.
SLDN and Morrison & Foerster announced Monday that theyād āreached an agreementā with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. District Court in Idaho, where the case is pending.
āThe agreement prevents the Air Force from discharging Lt. Col. Fehrenbach under āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell,ā the discriminatory law barring gay and lesbian service members from serving openly and honestly, until the court can schedule a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction,ā says the announcement.
Fehrenbach previously said heās been waiting more than two years for the U.S. military to ādo the right thingā and allow him to continue his service.
āI have given my entire adult life to the Air Force that I love,ā he said. āI have deployed six times and risked my life for my country. In the two years that Iāve been sitting at my desk rather than inside my jet, Iāve offered to deploy numerous times. Iām ready, willing, and able to deploy tomorrow, but Iām barred from deployment, because of this unjust, discriminatory law.ā
The injunction was filed after the General Counselās Office to the Secretary of the Air Force reportedly reviewed Fehrenbachās case and sent a recommendation to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. Without action by Donley, Fehrenbach could have been discharged within days, according to SLDN.
In a statement, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, urged Donley to employ the new regulations for āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tellā implemented earlier this year to keep Fehrenbach in service.
āLt. Col. Fehrenbach signed up nearly 19 years ago willing to risk all and die for his country, flying nearly 90 combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo,ā he said. āWhy and how the hell do we end up firing our best and brightest when weāre fighting in two wars?ā
Sarvis said Fehrenbachās discharge would ādramatically underscore that āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tellā is still the law and all gay and lesbian service members should be on notice.ā
The White House
Trump bars trans women and girls from sports
The administration reversed course on the Biden-Harris policy on Title IX

President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued another executive order taking aim at the transgender community, this time focusing on eligibility for sports participation.
In a signing ceremony for āKeeping Men Out of Womenās Sports” in the East Room of the White House, the president proclaimed “With this executive order, the war on womenās sports is over.”
Despite the insistence by Trump and Republicans that trans women and girls have a biological advantage in sports over cisgender women and girls, the research has been inconclusive, at best.
A study in the peer reviewed Sports Medicine journal found āno direct or consistent researchā pointing to this conclusion. A different review in 2023 found that post-pubertal differences are āreduced, if not erased, over time by gender affirming hormone therapy.ā
Other critics of efforts to exclude trans student athletes have pointed to the small number of people who are impacted. Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, testified last year that fewer than 10 of the NCAA’s 522,000+ student athletes identify as trans.
The Trump-Vance administration has reversed course from the Biden-Harris administration’s policy on Title IX rules barring sex-based discrimination.
āIf youāre going to have womenās sports, if youāre going to provide opportunities for women, then they have to be equally safe, equally fair, and equally private opportunities, and so that means that youāre going to preserve womenās sports for women,” a White House official said prior to the issuance of the order.
Former President Joe Biden’s Title IX rules, which went into effect last year, clarified that pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The White House official indicated that the administration will consider additional guidance, regulations, and interpretations of Title IX, as well as exploring options to handle noncompliance by threatening federal funding for schools and education programs.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump ādoes expect the Olympic Committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in womenās sports.ā
One of the first legislative moves by the new Congress last month was House Republicans’ passage of the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which would ban trans women and girls from participating in competitive athletics.
The bill is now before the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have a three-seat majority but would need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
California
Los Angeles Blade names new publisher
Alexander Rodriguez brings deep media, business experience to outlet

The Los Angeles Blade, Southern Californiaās leading LGBTQ news outlet, today announced the appointment of a new publisher, Alexander Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has a long background in queer media, business development, and a deep commitment to the Los Angeles community. He has worked as a lead writer and podcast host for Metrosource Magazine and for GED Magazine; content director for FleshBot Gay; and as host and producer for the āOn the Rocksā podcast. On the business side, Rodriguez spent years working in business development in the banking industry throughout Los Angeles. He also has an extensive background in event planning and management and has served on the boards of many LGBTQ non-profits. As a TV and radio personality, he has served as emcee for LGBTQ events around the nation.
āIām excited to bring my diverse media and business experience to the Los Angeles Blade,ā Rodriguez said. āWe will continue the Bladeās mission of serving as our communityās news outlet of record during these challenging times and work toward building bridges within our community and beyond.ā
Rodriguez starts in his new role on Monday, Feb. 3.
āWe are thrilled to welcome Alexander to the Blade team,ā said Kevin Naff, one of the owners of the Los Angeles Blade. āHis multimedia and business side experience will help us grow the Blade in L.A. and continue our commitment to best-in-class journalism serving the LGBTQ community in Southern California.ā
Rodriguez becomes the Los Angeles Bladeās second publisher following the unexpected death of founding publisher Troy Masters in December. Masters served in the role for nearly eight years. The community will come together for a celebration of Mastersās life on Monday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m. at the Abbey.
āTroyās legacy is in good hands with Alexander at the helm alongside our new local news editor, Gisselle Palomera,ā Naff added.
The Los Angeles Blade, launched in 2017, celebrates its eighth anniversary in March. It is the sister publication of the Washington Blade, founded in 1969, which offers unmatched coverage of queer political news and is the only LGBTQ outlet in the White House press pool and the White House Correspondentsā Association, and the only LGBTQ outlet with a dedicated seat in the White House briefing room.
Alexander Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].
National
Board members for LGBTQ foreign affairs group resign amid Trump attacks
GLIFAA vows to keep fighting outside the government

The board of the affinity group Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) announced āextraordinary measures,ā including a spate of resignations, on Friday to keep in compliance with President Trumpās āDefending Womenā executive order.
GLIFAA, an employee resource group that advocates for LGBTQ inclusion, equality, and workplace protections within U.S. foreign affairs agencies, announced that elected board members who were active U.S. government employees stepped down. The group was forced to take the drastic step amid Trumpās attacks on federal workers and efforts to slash spending. In a letter obtained by the Washington Blade, GLIFAA says that its work within the Executive Office will end because of Trumpās āDefending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Governmentā order, but will continue advocating for LGBTQ federal workers through its independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status outside of its former official government capacity.
Executive Order 14168, also known as the āDefending Womenā order, prompted this change within GLIFAA. It mandates that federal agencies recognize only two sexes, prohibits the use of gender identity in federal documents, and stops funding for gender-affirming care and any programs promoting āgender ideology.ā
In the letter sent on Friday, the organization explained its board members resigned to comply with the recent executive order on LGBTQ rights, but not before appointing an interim board to help make the shift out of the federal government. It also urged all members of GLIFAA to remove any work email accounts connected with the organization and switch them to personal email addresses to avoid any potential retaliation, as well as to pay membership dues to allow the organization to continue protecting LGBTQ federal workers.Ā
Despite these changes to the organization’s structure and ability to work in an official capacity within the government, the message was clear that GLIFAA will adapt to these changes to continue supporting LGBTQ federal workers, as well as other LGBTQ people facing oppression.
āWe recognize the deep challenges this moment poses to both our membership and our mission to advocate for human rights, dignity, and equal access to opportunities for all members of our Community,ā the letter reads. āSince 1992, GLIFAA has successfully advocated for policies that reversed discriminatory security clearance denials, secured benefits and accreditation for our spouses and family members, expanded healthcare and insurance coverage to meet the needs of our community, and promoted the advancement of human rights globally. We began this work in 1992 without official Department recognition, and while our activities as an employee organization have ceased for now, our mission to advocate for full legal and social equality for our members and their family members in the U.S. foreign affairs community will continue, albeit under different terms.ā
The letter continued, advocating for perseverance amid an administration that has been hostile to the LGBTQ community, especially the trans community.
āIn challenging times, the strength and resilience of our community matters more than ever. GLIFAA always has and always will represent all letters of the LGBTQIA rainbow. We are strongest when we stand together. So, we urge you to reach out to other members, uplift your colleagues and friends, and carry forward GLIFAAās unwavering spirit of resilience, determination, and support for equality ā wherever you are.ā
This comes days after multiple federal government websites wiped any mention of transgender people, removed mentions of how HIV and other health problems disproportionately impact the LGBTQ community, and information on Civil Rights protections to comply with Trumpās executive order. Some websites affected by this order include formerly non-partisan organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Census Bureau, and National Park Service.
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