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Gates raises bar for ‘Don’t Ask’ discharges

Decision delegated to service secretaries and other Pentagon leaders

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued guidance to Pentagon leaders on Thursday raising the rank of officials who can expel service members under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”  prompting questions about whether the new procedure would bring discharges to a halt.

In a memo dated Oct. 21, Gates said he’s issuing the changes “in light of the legal uncertainty”‘ surrounding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the wake of recent court actions striking down and then reinstating the law.

According to memo, discharges can only happen under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by the personal approval of the military service secretary of the department concern “in coordination” with other Pentagon officials.

“[I]n order to further ensure uniformity and care in the enforcement of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law and policy during this period, effective immediately and until further notice, no military member shall be separated pursuant to 10 USC 654 without the personal approval of the Secretary of the miliary department concerned, in coordination with the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the general counsel for the Department of Defense,” Gates writes.

A second memo issued the same day also outlining the changes was sent out by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley.

Stanley also advised gay, lesbian and bisexual service members currently in the military to think twice about making their sexual orientation public.

“We note again for Servicemembers, that altering their personal conduct during this period, in reaction to last week’s injunction, may have adverse consequences for themselves or other depending upon the state of the law,” Stanley writes.

On Thursday, members of the media during a news conference questioned a senior Pentagon attorney, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, about whether the change in the process effectively halts discharges under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“I would not try to overinterpret what’s on the paper,” the attorney said. “It’s an effort to further ensure uniformity and care in enforcement of the law during the legally uncertain period.”

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said the new change to appears to be giving all service members the same protections from “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that were previous given to officers.

“All proposed [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] discharges, regardless of grade and rank, will be reviewed at the highest civilian levels,” he said. “This can be a major constructive development for gay and lesbian service members.”

Sarvis said the change could “dramatically reduce” discharges, but noted the law remains on the books and service members shouldn’t come out.

“The fact that [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] remains law further underscores the urgent need for the full Senate to vote for repeal when it returns to lame-duck session next month,” he said.

Richard Socarides, a gay New York attorney who served as a adviser for President Clinton, said he thinks the changes amounted to a “de facto moratorium” on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Still, Socarides questioned why the Obama administration hadn’t taken this action sooner.

“This is what they should have done 20 months ago,” he said.

During the briefing, the Pentagon attorney said the reference in the memo to service secretaries working “in coordination” with the other defense officials to expel someone under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” doesn’t “necessarily” constitute veto power over the discharge by the other officials.

“When the guidance is coordinate with A, B and C, that means you consult with them … and in the legal world, that means providing legal advice,” the attorney said. “Does it constitute the ability to veto? No, not necessarily. It informs the decision.”

The new changes also raises questions about what would happen to openly gay Americans who seek to enlist in the U.S. armed forces and announce their sexual orientation to recruiters. Under previous rules, they would have not been able to enter service.

But the Pentagon attorney expressed uncertainty about how the changes would affect recruiting and said he expects additional guidance later.

“We are complying with the law and there is nothing specific in this guidance about the recruitment situation, but I would expect that it will come together at perhaps the service level or within the recruitment community,” the attorney said. “They’ll develop guidance in reaction to this guidance.”

The Pentagon attorney said he “couldn’t comment” on whether communication took place between Gates and the White House before the new memo was issued.

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Federal Government

RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth

‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.

The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.

“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”

While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.

The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”

Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.

“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”

GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”

Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.

“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.

“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”

“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.” 

Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.

“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”




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The White House

Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador

Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

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U.N. headquarters in New York (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.

Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”

“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.

Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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U.S. Federal Courts

Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy

Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

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Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.

The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”

Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.

“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.

Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.

The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.

Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”

Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.

“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”

“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.

Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.

Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.

The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.

Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.

A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order.  The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.

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