National
Federal appeals court declines to reconsider Prop 8 decision
Proposition 8 supporters petitioned a federal appeals court for an en banc review of a February ruling that struck it down
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request for an en banc rehearing of Perry v. Brown, setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown. (Photo via Wikimedia)
A federal appeals court in San Francisco announced on Tuesday that it denied a request to reconsider a February ruling that struck down California’s voter-approved ban on marriage for same-sex couples.
Proposition 8 supporters requested that the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allow an 11-judge panel to review a decision made by a three-judge panel that found the Golden State’s ban on nuptials for gays and lesbians unconstitutional.
Now retired U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker in Aug. 2010 found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Supporters of the voter-approved ban on marriage for gays and lesbians appealed the decision.
“This is a monumental day and our case has now entered its final chapter,” said Chad Griffin, board president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights during a conference call with reporters. “We began the final chapter of the Proposition 8 case today and the end is now in sight.”
Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson agreed.
“Today’s decision by the Ninth Circuit to deny a rehearing of Perry vs. Brown brings committed same-sex couples in California one step closer to being able to marry,” he said. “It’s now been three-and-a-half years since the freedom to marry was stripped from loving and committed same-sex couples. It is long past time for this ‘gay exception’ to marriage in California to come to an end.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) described the Ninth Court’s decision as another step towards bringing Prop 8 to “its rightful place in the dustbin of history.”
“By declining to rehear this case, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed a victory for civil rights for the LGBT community and for all Californians,” she added.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision comes less than a week after three judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. President Barack Obama last month announced his support of marriage rights for same-sex couples during a White House interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts.
Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain referenced Obama’s comments that marriage remains in the purview of the states in his dissenting opinion onto which Judges Jay Bybee and Carlos Bea signed. He further noted the president’s assertion during the interview that he would like to see the debate over marriage rights for same-sex couples “continue in a respectful way.”
“Today our court has silenced any such respectful conversation,” wrote O’Scannlain.
Prop 8 supporters announced moments after the Ninth Circuit announced its decision that they will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Perry v. Brown.
“Marriage is a universal good that has been honored by diverse cultures and faiths for the entire history of Western Civilization,” said Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. “The Protectmarriage.com legal team looks forward to standing before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the people’s right to preserve the fundamental building block of civilization, especially since the dissent accompanying today’s decision strongly supports our arguments. The democratic process and the most important human institution—marriage—shouldn’t be overthrown based on the demands of Hollywood activists.”
National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown echoed Raum.
“We are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve our democratic rights and overturn this action of judicial arrogance,” he said.
Observers note that the case would go before the justices sometime next year if they agree to hear it.
“The Ninth Circuit has wisely declined to review the Prop 8 case,” West Hollywood (Calif.) Mayor John Duran told the Blade. “If the U.S. Supreme Court also denies review, California will return to a freedom to marry.”
Meanwhile, Maryland voters face a likely referendum on the state’s same-sex marriage law in November. A proposed constitutional amendment in Minnesota would ban nuptials for gays and lesbians. Maine voters will consider a ballot measure in November that would allow same-sex couples to tie the knot in their state.
“While the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately decide the outcome of this case, we must all continue to walk that path–in this case and other courtrooms, in legislatures, at ballot boxes and at kitchen table–until all LGBT people are fully and equally part of the American community,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
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.
National
BREAKING NEWS: Shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Shooter reportedly opened fire inside hotel
Four loud bangs were heard in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, a shooter opened fire inside the hotel outside the ballroom.
Attendees could hear four loud bangs as people started to duck and take cover. During the chaos sounds of salad and glasses were dropped as hotel employees, and guests ducked for cover.
The head table — which included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump, and White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang — were rushed off stage.
“The U.S. Secret Service, in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department, is investigating a shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement. “The president and the First Lady are safe along all protects. One individual is in custody. The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation.”
Trump held a press conference at the White House after he left the hotel.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service,” said Trump.
Trump said the shooter is from California. He also said an officer was shot, but said his bullet proof vest “saved” him.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, interim D.C. police chief Jeffrey Carroll, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, and other officials held their own press conference at the hotel.
Carroll said the gunman who has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and “multiple” knives when he charged a Secret Service checkpoint in a hotel lobby. Carroll also told reporters that law enforcement “exchanged gunfire with that individual.”
Both he and Bowser said the gunman appeared to act alone.
“We are so very thankful to members of law enforcement who did their jobs tonight and made sure all guests were safe,” said Bowser. “Nobody else was involved.”
The Washington Blade will update this story as details become more available.
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