National

White House opposes defense bill without ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal

Levin, McCain reportedly discussing removing provision

Published

14 years ago

November 8, 2010

A White House spokesperson has said the Obama administration will oppose any effort to strip pending defense budget legislation of a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal provision amid reports that Senate leaders are discussing purging the provision from the bill.

“The White House opposes any effort to strip ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ from the National Defense Authorization Act,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a White House spokesperson, in a statement Monday.

On Sunday, reports emerged in The Advocate and the Wall Street Journal that Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and supporter of open service, has engaged in talks to move forward with the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill without the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal language.

A Democratic aide, who spoke to the Blade on the condition of anonymity, said he’s heard talk about pushing forward with the legislation in the Senate without the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” provision.

“Chairman Levin is working with Sen. [John] McCain and the administration to potentially pass a version of the [defense authorization bill] that strips out the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal provision,” the aide said. “As many people had warned the Administration repeatedly, the lame duck session will be inhospitable to passing controversial measures.”

The aide added that GOP obstructionism after its success on Election Day was “completely predictable”and said the decision to wait until lame duck session for action is “yet another case of the administration failing to fully push a pro-gay (and also pro-national security) measure.”

In a statement, Tara Andringa, spokesperson for Levin, confirmed the senator has been engaged in talks with both the Pentagon and McCain on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She said the Pentagon working group report was among the discussion topics with the Defense Department, but offered limited details on the discussions with McCain.

“Senator Levin has been discussing with the Defense Department when the report relating to the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, due to the Secretary of Defense on December 1, will be made available to Congress and the public, and he has also been discussing with Senator McCain how to proceed.”

In a statement, Brooke Buchanan, a McCain spokesperson, also confirmed that discussions have taken place.

“Senator McCain continues to have discussions with Senator Levin regarding the National Defense Authorization Bill,” she said. “Among other concerns, the senator remains opposed to the inclusion of the provision repealing the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law.”

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he thinks “important conversations” are happening with regard to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but he doesn’t anything has been decided.

“I think Sen. McCain is trying to frame the debate and frame the message even before the lame duck session begins, but I don’t think any serious negotiations are underway,” Sarvis said.

Sarvis said he has “no doubt” that more than 60 senators will vote to bring the defense authorization bill with the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” language to the Senate floor, but added support from the White House and Defense Secretary Robert Gates is necessary to “ensure success.”

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National

Blade among nominees for GLAAD Media Awards

Paris Olympics story competing for Outstanding Print Article

Published

1 day ago

January 22, 2025

Staff reports

Media watchdog GLAAD announced nominees for its 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Wednesday encompassing more than 300 nominees in 33 categories.

The Washington Blade was nominated in the Outstanding Print Article category for, “Paris Olympics: More Queer Athletes, More Medals, More Pride, Less Grindr” by sports editor Dawn Ennis. Additionally, Blade Fellow Henry Carnell was nominated in the Outstanding Online Journalism Article category for “First They Tried to ‘Cure’ Gayness. Now They’re Fixated on ‘Healing’ Trans People,” with Madison Pauly; the story was published by MotherJones.com.

“Congratulations to Dawn and Henry on their nominations,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff. “These honors reflect the Blade’s more than 55-year commitment to excellence in journalism and we’re proud of their important work.”

“The GLAAD Media Awards were created nearly four decades ago to champion LGBTQ stories amid a deeply hostile and unsafe time for our community. Today, this mission holds true and ever-more important as attacks against LGBTQ people are not only growing, but finding new avenues,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremony will be held later this year in Los Angeles. For the full list of nominees, visit GLAAD.org.

U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court to consider case against Montgomery County Public Schools

Plaintiffs challenging LGBTQ-specific curriculum policy

Published

1 day ago

January 22, 2025

Staff reports

U.S. Supreme Court (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 announced it will consider the case of a group of Montgomery County parents who are challenging a policy that does not allow them to “opt out” their children from classes in which lessons or books on LGBTQ-related topics are taught.

The parents in a federal lawsuit they filed in May 2023 allege the Montgomery County Public Schools policy violates their religious beliefs.

A federal judge in Maryland on Aug. 24, 2023, ruled against the parents. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

“Under the 4th Circuit’s reasoning, parents cannot be heard until after the damage has been done to their children,” reads the Supreme Court filing that CBS News obtained. “But there is no unringing that bell — by then, innocence will be lost and beliefs undermined.”

Federal Government

Trump-Vance administration removes LGBTQ, HIV resources from government websites

President took similar action shortly after his first inauguration in 2017

Published

2 days ago

January 21, 2025

Christopher Kane

President Donald Trump (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Trump-Vance administration has “eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources” from WhiteHouse.gov and “key federal agency” websites, GLAAD announced in a press release Tuesday.

Prior to President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, GLAAD had catalogued more than 50 links to LGBTQ- and HIV-related content on White House web pages and on websites for the State Department and the Departments of Education, Justice, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Labor, along with other agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

As of Tuesday, GLAAD specifically found that terms like “lesbian,” “bisexual,” “gay,” “transgender,” “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and “LGBTQ” are “no longer accessible on WhiteHouse.gov,” while “some LGBTQ-specific pages have been taken down from sites for the Centers for Disease Control, Department of State, and more.”

Among the pages that are no longer accessible on WhiteHouse.gov are an equity report from July 2021, a fact sheet with information on expanding access to HIV prevention and treatment from March 2024, and information about Pride Month.

Among the entries on federal agency websites that are no longer available are 94 entries for “LGBT Rights” that were once published on the State Department’s site and dozens of links to information and resources on “LGBTQI+ Policy” that were once available on the Department of Labor website.

“President Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said. “Today’s action proves the Trump administration’s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency.”

Ellis added, “Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful.”

Shortly after Trump’s first presidential inauguration in 2017, the Trump-Pence administration scrubbed the White House and federal government websites of LGBTQ and HIV related content, provoking backlash from LGBTQ advocates.