News
National News in Brief: September 23
A Maggie Gallagher at the premier of ‘8’ surprised many
Maggie Gallagher, chair of the National Organization for Marriage, surprised attendees of the premiere of ‘8’ when she was spotted in the audience. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Gallagher attends ‘Milk’ screenwriter’s Prop 8 play
The star-studded premiere of Dustin Lance Black’s play ‘8’ based on the Proposition 8 trial had an unexpected audience member last week — National Organization for Marriage’s board chair, Maggie Gallagher.
The marriage equality opponent, Gallagher, is portrayed in the play by Tony-nominated actress Jayne Houdyshell. According to Andy Towle of Towleroad.com, who captured several photographs of the anti-marriage leader, Gallagher engaged in debate with marriage advocates outside of the play, but beyond crinkling a loud bag of snacks she brought in throughout the show, was otherwise not disruptive during the performance.
The show features Ellen Barkin, Bob Balaban, Matt Bomer, Campbell Brown, Anthony Edwards, Morgan Freeman, Cheyenne Jackson, Larry Kramer, Christine Lahti, John Lithgow, Rory O’Malley, Rob Reiner, Yeardley Smith and Bradley Whitford. The script is based on the transcripts of the historic ‘Perry v. Schwarzenegger’ trial, currently being appealed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge: Prop 8 trial video will be released
SAN FRANCISCO — A Federal District Court judge has ordered the tapes released from the 2010 Proposition 8 trial, despite pleas from gay rights opponents to keep the tapes secret.
“Foremost among the aspects of the federal judicial system that foster public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process are public access to trials and public access to the record of judicial proceedings,” Chief Justice James Ware wrote in his ruling, which is stayed until Sept. 30. “Consequently, once an item is placed in the record of judicial proceedings, there must be compelling reasons for keeping that item secret.”
In 2010, Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Prop 8, the California constitutional amendment barring marriage between citizens of the same sex. The Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial was allowed to be recorded, and the sponsors of the case, American Foundation for Equal Rights have called for the release of the tapes as a matter of transparency.
Michigan House approves ban on DP benefits
LANSING, Mich. — Despite vocal opposition during debate, last week the Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation, stripping the state’s public universities of their right to offer domestic partnership benefits to same-sex partners of employees.
Citing the 2004 Michigan Constitutional amendment, known as Proposition 2, Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville) pushed HB 4770 and 4771 to prohibit the benefits, according to the Michigan Messenger.
The fate of the bill now rests in the state Senate, also Republican controlled. Whether or not Gov. Rick Snyder would sign the measure is unclear, as one of the governor’s legal counsels, Michael Gadola wrote to the majority leaders in both houses calling into question the constitutionality of both bills.
Australia implements trans-friendly passport policy
CANBERRA, Australia — In a move that may lead to changes around the world, Australia has announced that it will allow transgender or intersex citizens to choose against identifying with either “M” or “F” on passports.
According to the blog ThinkProgress, citing challenges that trans and intersex residents face in security while traveling, Australia will allow residents to apply for passports with the gender designator “X.” Australia also will no longer restrict gender marker changes to trans people who have already undergone gender reassignment surgery, and allow the changes after an applicant receives a doctor’s note.
Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus launches
WASHINGTON — Reps. Barbara Lee, Jim McDermott and Trent Franks are launching the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, which will take a leading role in the House of Representatives in advocating for stronger HIV/AIDS policies both at home and abroad.
“American leadership in the global fight against HIV/AIDS began a decade ago when Republican and Democratic leaders stood together and refused to allow a deadly disease to claim a generation of African teachers, nurses, doctors, parents and children,” said senior adviser Michael Gerson in a press release from the caucus. “The HIV/AIDS caucus announced today will remind Congress of a great bipartisan achievement – and of a continuing responsibility to save lives.”
State Department
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
April 20 memo outlined anti-transgender rule
Democracy Forward on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records on the State Department’s new bathroom policy.
A memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms” that the State Department issued on April 20 notes employees can no longer use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“The administration affirms that there are two sexes — male and female — and that federal facilities should operate on this objective and longstanding basis to ensure consistency, privacy, and safety in shared spaces,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot told the Daily Signal, a conservative news website that first reported on the memo. “In line with President Trump’s executive order this provides clear, uniform guidance to the department by grounding policy in biological sex as determined at birth.”
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. The sweeping directive also ordered federal government agencies to “effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.”
Democracy Forward’s FOIA request that the Washington Blade exclusively obtained on Tuesday is specifically seeking a copy of the memo that details the State Department’s new bathroom policy. Democracy Forward has also requested “all” memo-specific communications between the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs and the Daily Signal from April 1-21.
Federal Government
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Measures would restrict federal funding for LGBTQ-affirming schools
Republicans have been gaining ground in reshaping education policy to be less inclusive toward LGBTQ students at the state level, and now they are turning their focus to Capitol Hill.
Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide “Don’t Say Gay” bill, doubling down on their commitment to being the party of “traditional family values” by excluding anyone who does not identify with their sex at birth.
The largest anti-LGBTQ education legislation to reach the House chamber is House Bill 2616 — the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or the PROTECT Kids Act. The PROTECT Kids Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Robert Onder (R-Mo.), and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), would require any public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to require parental consent to change a child’s gender expression in school.
The bill, which was discussed during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing, would specifically require any schools that get federal money from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 — which was created to minimize financial discrepancies in education for low-income students — to get parental approval before identifying any child’s gender identity as anything other than what was provided to the school initially. This includes getting approval before allowing children to use their preferred locker room or bathroom.
It reads that any school receiving this funding “shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
LGBTQ rights advocates have criticized both national and state efforts to require parental permission to use a child’s preferred gender identity, as it raises issues of at-home safety — especially if the home is not LGBTQ-affirming — and could lead to the outing of transgender or gender-curious students.
A follow-up bill, HB 2617, proposed by Owens, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, prevents the use of federal funding to “advance concepts related to gender ideology,” using the definition from President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14168, making that an enshrined definition in law of sex rather than just by executive order. There is also a bill making its way through the senate with the same text— Senate Bill 2251.
Advocates have also criticized this follow-up legislation, as it would restrict school staff — including teachers and counselors — from acknowledging trans students’ identities or providing any support. They have said that this kind of isolation can worsen mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth and allows for education to be politicized rather than being based in reality.
David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of government affairs, called this legislation out for using LGBTQ children as political pawns in an ideology fight — one that could greatly harm the safety of these children if passed.
“Trans kids are not a political agenda — they are students who deserve safety and affirmation at school like anyone else,” Stacy said in a statement. “Despite the many pressing issues facing our nation, House Republicans continue their bizarre obsession with trans people. H.R. 2616 does not protect children. It targets them. This bill is cruel, and we’re prepared to fight it.”
This is similar to Florida House Bills 1557 and 1069, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “Don’t Say They” bill, respectively, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, prohibiting the use of pronouns consistent with one’s gender identity, expanding book banning procedures, and censoring health curriculum.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 233 bills related to restricting student and educator rights in the U.S.
Botswana’s government has repealed a provision of its colonial-era penal code that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The country’s High Court in 2019 struck down the provision. The Batswana government in 2022 said it would abide by the ruling after country’s Court of Appeals upheld it.
The government on March 26 announced the repeal of the penal code’s “unnatural offenses” section that specifically referenced any person who “has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” and “permits any other person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature.”
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana, a Batswana advocacy group known by the acronym LEGABIBO, challenged the criminalization law with the support of the Southern Africa Litigation Center. LEGABIBO in a statement it posted to its Facebook on April 25 welcomed the repeal.
“For many, these provisions were not just words on paper — they were lived realities,” said LEGABIBO. “They affected access to healthcare, safety, employment, and the freedom to love and exist openly.”
“LEGABIBO believes that the deletion of these sections is a necessary and long-overdue step toward restoring dignity and aligning our legal framework with constitutional values of equality and human rights,” it added. “It is a clear message that LGBTIQ+ persons are not criminals, and that their lives and relationships deserve protection, not punishment.”
LEGABIBO further stressed that “while this does not erase the harm of the past, it creates space for healing, inclusion, and continued progress toward full equality.”
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Botswana repeals colonial-era sodomy law
LGBTQ people are leaving Orthodox Judaism behind
Madonna makes rare club appearance in West Hollywood
Adoption under suspicion
Why we need to recognize and celebrate Lesbian Day of Visibility
Calendar: April 24-30
DC Center marks one year at new location
