National
Obama still defending ‘Don’t Ask’ in court
Justice Dept. files brief with Ninth Circuit
President Obama (Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Obama administration is continuing to defend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in court and on Friday filed a brief calling for suspension of litigation until the process for legislative repeal of the statute is complete.
In the case of Log Cabin v. United States, the U.S. Justice Department asked the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hold off on proceedings until the president and Pentagon leaders complete the certification process for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“The government believes the pendency of this repeal process warrants withholding further proceedings and decision in this matter until the process is complete,” the brief states.
In December, President Obama signed legislation allowing for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But the military’s gay ban will remain in effect until the president, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify the U.S. military is ready for an end to the military’s gay ban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he won’t issue certification until training is implemented throughout the armed forces.
But should the appellate decide to continue with the case, the Justice Department argues that judges should reverse an earlier decision made by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional. The administration contends the decision should be overturned because plaintiffs lack standing and the situation regarding the military’s gay ban has changed since the president signed legislation allowing for repeal.
“The district court exercised its equitable authority to enjoin enforcement of a federal statute, but that statute is now undergoing a repeal process subject to a more recent law duly enacted by Congress and signed by the president,” the brief states. “In view of the disruption that an abrupt and immediate end to [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] would cause … enacting this orderly process was well within Congress’s considerable constitutional authority in crafting legislation concerning military affairs.”
R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of National Log Cabin Republicans, said Obama has “abdicated his responsibility” in ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by continuing to defend the statute in court.
“The Department of Justice’s continued defense of this case and its appellate tactics seek to obfuscate the issues and facts of this case,” Cooper said. “Log Cabin Republicans represents countless Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers who are under the peril of a policy that seeks to advance discrimination over national security, which is why we went to court to argue this exact matter.”
Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokesperson, said administration is defending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged in court.
“Congress has now enacted an orderly process for repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ policy and repeal is expected to become final in a matter of months,” she said.”In light of the vote to repeal this policy, we are working with the Department of Defense to take the appropriate steps in pending cases to conform with the law and the process established to repeal this policy.”
Dan Woods, attorney for White & Case LLP, who’s representing Log Cabin in the lawsuit, said the brief is “stunning” for what isn’t included and said administration attorneys are suggesting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional.
“The government’s brief does not address the due process or First Amendment issues on which Judge Phillips based her decision nor the standard of review applicable to our challenge to the constitutionality of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” she said. “By not arguing merits of the constitutionality of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ the government’s brief, by its silence on these issues, is effectively conceding that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was and is unconstitutional.”
The recent announcement from the Justice Department that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court — based on the Obama administration’s new belief that laws related to sexual orientation deserve heightened scrutiny — raises questions about why the president continues to defend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Prior to the filing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said he expected the brief to reiterate that “the courts should not decide the case or the constitutional question, due to the pending repeal, which should be effective in a matter of months.”
“As I said, the repeal is proceeding smoothly and efficiently,” Carney said. “Our goal was to have it repealed. It has been repealed. And that process of the repeal is now proceeding efficiently and smoothly, which is a good thing.”
Asked whether Obama has communicated to the Justice Department whether he thinks “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional, Carney replied, “Not that I know of.”
Download a copy of the Justice Department brief here.
South Carolina
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Timothy Truett allegedly shot at gay club in Myrtle Beach on April 1
A South Carolina man remains in custody on a more than $300,000 bond after he allegedly opened fire at a Myrtle Beach nightclub on April 1, according to WMBF.
Reports say 37-year-old Timothy James Truett Jr., of Clover, S.C., was detained by the Myrtle Beach Police Department after the April 1 incident outside Pulse Ultra Club. He was later arrested and charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, discharging a firearm within city limits, malicious injury to real property valued over $5,000, and assault or intimidation due to political opinions or the exercise of civil rights.
At 10:57 a.m. on April 1, officers responded to a call about a possible shooting at Pulse Ultra Club, located in the 2700 block of South Kings Highway.
In an affidavit released later, the club’s owner, Ken Phillips, said he was doing paperwork that morning when he heard “five or six” gunshots. He went outside and found a window and the windshield of his SUV shattered by bullets. An SUV with blue plastic covering one window was left at the scene.
Police later reviewed footage that showed a silver vehicle stopping in the middle of the road. The video appeared to capture muzzle flashes coming from the passenger-side window.
According to the affidavit, an officer later pulled over a vehicle driven by Truett and found spent shell casings in the back seat, along with a gun.
Documents do not detail why Truett was ultimately charged under the state law covering assault or intimidation tied to political opinions or the exercise of civil rights.
As of April 1, records show Truett is being held in Horry County on a combined bond of more than $312,000.
WMBF spoke with Phillips after the incident and asked whether there was any prior conflict that might have led to the shooting.
“I don’t know if it’s personal, I don’t know if it’s related to being gay, I don’t know if it’s related to the bar issues,” Phillips told WMBF. “Anybody with a mindset of pulling out a weapon in broad daylight is not right.”
“My primary concern has and always will be the safety of my community and my customers,” he added. “It’s given me great concern … as to how far people will go.”
WMBF also spoke with Adam Hayes, vice chair of Myrtle Beach’s Human Rights Coalition, who was involved in pushing for the ordinance. He said that while the incident itself is troubling, it shows the policy is being put to use.
The ordinance is intended to deter “crimes that are motivated by bias or hate towards any person or persons, in whole or in part, because of the actual or perceived” identity, in the absence of a statewide hate crime law.
“It’s nice to see that something we put into policy is not just a piece of paper, that it’s actually being used,” said Hayes.
He said the shooting underscores the need for a statewide hate crime law in South Carolina and added that the incident has left the local LGBTQ community shaken.
South Carolina and Wyoming are the only two states in the U.S. without a comprehensive statewide hate crime law.
Truett remains in jail as of publication.
The White House
Trump budget would codify expanded global gag rule
Funding for LGBTQ health programs around the world would also be cut
The Trump-Vance administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget would codify the expanded global gag rule and eliminate funding for LGBTQ-specific programs in global health initiatives.
“The budget would ensure no funding supports abortion, unfettered access to birth control, and also eliminates funding for circumcision and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer services to better focus funds on life-saving assistance,” reads the proposed budget the White House released on April 3. “The United States should not pay for the world’s birth control and therapy.”
The proposed budget includes four examples of “eliminated activities.”
- In the last administration, PEPFAR funded health workers who performed over 21 abortions in Mozambique
- Promoting reproductive health education and access to birth control and other harmful programs couched under ‘family planning’ in Ghana
- A supply chain “control tower” to provide a “holistic commercial of the shelf solution” on the Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH)
- Promoting health equity and providing condoms and contraception in Kenya.
President Ronald Reagan in 1985 implemented the global gag rule, also known as the “Mexico City” policy, which bans U.S. foreign aid for groups that support abortion and/or offer abortion-related services.
Trump reinstated the rule during his first administration. The Biden-Harris administration shortly after it took office in January 2021 rescinded it.
The Trump-Vance White House earlier this year expanded the global gag rule to ban U.S. foreign aid for groups that promote “gender ideology.” The expansion took effect on Feb. 26.
US funding cuts have devastated global LGBTQ rights movement
The Trump-Vance administration after it took office in January 2025 moved to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded LGBTQ and intersex rights groups around the world. USAID officially shut down on July 1, 2025.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March 2025 announced the State Department would administer the 17 percent of USAID contracts that had not been cancelled. Rubio issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during the U.S. foreign aid freeze the White House announced shortly after it took office.
The global LGBTQ and intersex rights movement has lost more than an estimated $50 million in funding because of these cuts. The Washington Blade has previously reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down.
The Trump-Vance administration has signed healthcare-specific agreements with Kenya, Uganda, and other African countries through its American First Global Health Strategy. Advocacy groups with whom the Blade has spoken have expressed concern these partnerships will result in further exclusion and government-sanctioned discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes $5.1 billion for “global health to end the previous administration’s abuse of these programs and to execute (the State Department’s) newly released America First Global Health Strategy.” This figure represents a $4.3 billion cut from the previous year.
“The president’s new vision of bilateral health assistance eliminates bloated Beltway Bandit contracts, does more with fewer dollars, and transitions recipient countries to self-reliance,” reads the proposed budget. “The budget would also eliminate disease-specific accounts and provide the department crucial agility to address the actual needs of each recipient country — across HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and polio — to strengthen global health security and protect Americans from disease.”
“The budget would focus on new compacts that unify funding, achieving economies of scale in both implementation and oversight,” it adds. “Under the prior administration, only about 40 percent of PEPFAR funds supported actual service delivery, including medications, testing, commodities, and health workers, with the remaining 60 percent wasted on duplicative administrative costs, unwieldy supply chains, and layers of endless bureaucracy. The new AFGHS (America First Global Health Strategy) compacts would improve efficiency, cut red tape, and dismantle the bloated ecosystem of foreign assistance profiteers.”
The Council for Global Equality on April 3 reiterated its criticism of the expanded global gag rule, and urged Congress to reject the proposed budget.
“We won’t mince words: people are dying because of this policy,” said the Council for Global Equality in a statement. “Making this policy permanent will only ensure that U.S. foreign assistance discriminates against those who need services the most, all while forcing people around the world to adhere to the Trump administration’s extremist, ideological agenda that denies the very existence of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex persons.”
“We will not be silent as Trump threatens to upend decades of bipartisan foreign assistance programs to appease his extremist base,” added the group. “We call on Congress to immediately reject this budget and block implementation of the expanded global gag rules.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
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