National
National news in brief: June 3
The administration chooses top defense advisers, Illinois Civil Unions begin, a trans woman’s Texas marriage invalidated and a trans prom queen in Florida
Adm. Mullen, leader in ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal, retires
WASHINGTON — With the president’s selection of Army service chief General Martin Dempsey to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of the most prominent figures in the effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Admiral Mike Mullen, will retire as the head of the body of senior uniformed leaders in the Defense Department.
Mullen will join outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in bidding farewell to the department. During his tenure, Mullen led the White House effort to repeal the 17-year-old ban on open service by gays and lesbians in the military. Mullen testified on multiple occasions in Congress on the need to end the ban on open service in order to preserve military readiness.
Gen. Dempsey will assume his new role alongside Gates’ successor, current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta.
Meanwhile, a major opponent of repeal indicated he will no longer push to continue barring open service. According to ThinkProgress, a Washington-based progressive think tank, when asked if he would support reinstating the law at a town hall event in Pompano Beach, Fla., Republican Rep. Allen West said, “I’m not doing anything to prevent ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ The thing that I’m doing is … Look, a decision has been made.” Later he said about reinstating the law, “Now it has been done. I will sit back to see what happens.”
Illinois civil unions become law
CHICAGO — Wednesday marked the first day that Illinois same-sex couples can apply for civil union licenses from the state.
Lead lobbyist in the push to pass the bill in 2010, Rick Garcia told the Blade that lines stretched “out to the street,” at the Cook County Clerk’s office Wednesday morning. According to Garcia, the law survived six separate attempts by conservative lawmakers to derail the onset of the law after passage, and now provides 648 new rights to same-sex couples, including emergency medical decision making powers and the ability to put both spouses’ names on the birth certificate to babies born to same-sex spouses.
The new law, however, has emboldened conservatives to push for a voter referendum amending the Illinois Constitution to bar recognition of same-sex relationships.
Widow denied death benefits after husband dies
WHARTON, Texas — A judge has invalidated the marriage of Nikki Araguz and her deceased firefighter husband, killed in a fire in 2010, because Araguz is transsexual.
Though born intersex, Araguz was declared male at birth and was not able to present as her actual gender identity until years later. A couple is ineligible for marriage in the state of Texas if gender markers on both birth certificates match, rather than gender at the time that the nuptials occur.
After her husband Thomas’ death, Araguz’s in-laws sought to use the courts to invalidate the marriage and deny her spousal benefits upon claims that Thomas was unaware of Araguz’s former gender at the time they were married. The Wharton County, Texas court sided with the family.
Fla. high school selects trans prom queen, gay king
DAVIE, Fla. — Running against 14 other women at her school, McFatter Technical High School senior Andii Viveros, 17, surprised a Florida town by earning her classmates’ selection as prom queen.
Born Andrew Viveros, Andii began publicly presenting herself as female two years ago, despite being bullied and harassed, according to Steve Rothaus of the Miami Herald. “They called my name and I was in total shock,” the newly crowned prom queen told the Herald. “Many students have started a petition to have me removed from the ballot. They also are outraged and say I am making a mockery of prom, because I am going in an evening gown.”
Despite the pressure, Andii stayed in the running for the prominent role and took the top prize. McFatter students did not stop with that surprise, however. Prom-goers also selected openly gay Juan Macias as prom king.
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
National
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday
Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.
The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.
“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.
Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.
The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.
Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”
The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.
The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”
Blade welcomes fall intern
PHOTOS: Miss Gay Old Bay
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
San Francisco, long a queer safe haven, remains competitive for homebuyers
Calendar: August 28-September 3
‘Teenage Sex and Death’ has never been more entertaining
Actor Tim Curry dies at 80
