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Obama administration requests stay of ‘Don’t Ask’ injunction

Request made with California district court

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The Obama administration on Thursday requested a stay with a California federal court against a recently issued injunction prohibiting enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” according to documents obtained by the Blade.

In the notices, the U.S. Justice Department seeks a stay from U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips, who issued the injunction on Tuesday, under the presumption that the Obama administration will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Defendants request that the Court issue an order to stay pending appeal of its  Order, dated October 12, 2010 (Doc. 252), permanently enjoining enforcement of  the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) statute, 10 U.S.C. § 654, and implementing regulations,” one notice states.

The Justice Department asks that the district court issue a stay before Monday. If a stay is not yet entered by that time, the administration says it will seek such action from the Ninth Circuit.

On Tuesday, Phillips issued an injunction prohibiting the U.S. government from enforcing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the wake of her court decision last month striking down the law. The Justice Department had 60 days from the time the injunction was issued to make an appeal to a higher court.

In a statement, Christian Berle, deputy executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said he isn’t surprised the Obama administration is seeking a stay against the injunction. In 2004, his organization filed the lawsuit that led to the order.

“After years of fighting this lawsuit, Log Cabin Republicans expected that the Obama administration would continue to pull out all the stops to defend ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” Berle said. “Log Cabin Republicans will continue to advocate on behalf of the American servicemembers who everyday sacrifice in defense of our nation and our Constitution. If this stay is granted, justice will be delayed, but it will not be denied.”

Dan Woods, an attorney with White & Case LLP, which represented Log Cabin in court, swore to fight against the stay to ensure open service in the U.S. military.

“Now that the government has filed a request for a stay, we will oppose it vigorously because brave, patriotic homosexuals are serving in our Armed Forces to fight for all of our constitutional rights while the government is denying them theirs,” Woods said.

One of the notices offers a litany of reasons why the injunction against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should be stayed. Some arguments are the injunction will “irreparably harm the public interest in a strong and effective military” and will require “a precipitous change in policy that threatens the public interest in a strong military.”

“The injunction forces the executive to immediately cease enforcing a statute enacted by Congress regarding military affairs, which alone creates harm justifying a stay,” the notice states. “The injunction also requires an immediate and dramatic change in policy without allowing time to do so in an orderly and comprehensive way.”

A footnote in the notice states that although President Obama opposes “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the administration feels compelled to defend the 1993 statute because it’s federal law.

“As the President has stated previously, the Administration does not support the [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] statute as a matter of policy and strongly supports its repeal,” the notices states. “However, the Department of Justice has long followed the practice of defending federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality, even if the Administration disagrees with a particular statute as a policy matter, as it does here.”

In a press conference Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated Obama’s opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but said Congress should be responsible for ending the statute.

“The president believes that this is a policy that undermines our national security, discriminates against those who would sacrifice their lives for their country, and is unjust; that the policy needs to be changed and should be changed,” Gibbs said. “His hope is that the Senate will take up the legislation pending before them to do just that, as the House of Representatives has already done.”

Officials in the Obama administration publicly expressed concern about the injunction against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this week.

According to the Associated Press, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Wednesday that abruptly ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have “enormous consequences” for U.S. service members. A Pentagon working group is examining the way to implement repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and is expected to deliver a report to Gates by Dec. 1.

A co-founder of OutServe, a network for active duty LGBT service members, called Gates’ remarks”a direct attack against gay and lesbian military personnel” and denied there would be “enormous consequences” after lifting the ban on open service.

“The reality is unit cohesion is destroyed by directly making military members lie about themselves and that is a proven fact,” said the co-founder, who goes by the alias J.D. Smith because he currently serves in the U.S. military.

“By saying we would create ‘enormous consequences’ he [is] attacking us,” Smith continued. “No other group of currently serving military personnel would be attacked like this.”

In response to Gates’ comments, the Palm Center, a think tank on gays in the military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, issued a statement calling on Gates to identify the “enormous consequences” of ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enforcement.

“Secretary Gates’ suggestion that ‘enormous consequences’ await any immediate implementation of openly gay service stands in stark contrast to the evidence from other foreign militaries,” said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center. “Swift change and strong leadership were identified as the two key elements to this process. America is unique but we will not be the first nation to allow openly gay service, we will be the twenty-sixth.”

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Federal Government

UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House

University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”

Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.

Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.

The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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