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Will Obama speak at Int’l AIDS conference?

President hasn’t yet responded to invitation to attend

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Advocates are calling on President Obama to deliver remarks on combatting the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Washington, noting the White House hasn’t yet to responded to an invitation for him to speak at the event.

Those calling on Obama to speak at the 19th International AIDS Conference for 2012 — which will take place in D.C. starting the week of July 22 — say the president should take the opportunity to highlight his administration’s work to combat the disease.

Whether the president will make an appearance remains in question. Adina Ellis, a spokesperson for the conference, said Obama has been officially invited to speak at and said the White House has acknowledged the invitation, but as of Monday conference officials “still have not received confirmation” on whether he’ll attend.

Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of the AIDS Institute, said he wants the president to take the opportunity to speak and “announce to the world that we are going to begin to end AIDS” and the ways in which that will happen.

“I think it would be very important for the president of the United States … to make a strong announcement that it is the policy of the United States that we’re going to end AIDS in the United States, and this is what I’m going to do to do it,” Schmid said. “We are looking for his strong affirmation. This is the place to do it; the eyes of the world are looking at this International AIDS conference.”

Schmid acknowledged the president has “a lot of competing interests” for his time.

“I don’t see why there should be any reluctance for them to attend,” Schmid said. “I think most people are expecting him and wanting him to attend, and I think it would be not a good sign if he did not come.”

The conference is taking place within the United States for the first time since 1990 thanks in part to the work of the Obama administration. The lifting of the HIV travel ban, which previously had prevented foreign nationals with HIV from coming into the United States, enabled international participants who may have HIV to come into the United States for the conference.

Brian Hujdich, executive director of the AIDS non-profit HealthHIV, said he wants Obama to speak at the conference to discuss ways in which health care reform will help HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment now that the Supreme Court has upheld the law’s constitutionality.

“I think the president could speak very meaningfully to what access to health insurance really means to people with HIV, including preventing HIV by having prevention programs and testing efforts in primary care settings, so that we can be both helping prevent HIV as well as ensuring the best quality care for all those with HIV,” Hujdich said.

Hujdich said he doesn’t know why Obama has yet to accept the invitation, but would be “shocked” if the president didn’t attend and speculated the administration was waiting for the Supreme Court ruling on health care “so the messaging and communication on [health care reform] implementation would be enhanced” before confirming attendance.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said under questioning from the Washington Blade that he has no updates on Obama’s schedule when asked if the president would speak at the conference in D.C.

“I appreciate the question, but I do not have a scheduling update for you,” Carney said.

High-ranking members of the Obama administration are slated to address the conference, including Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. Other high-profile speakers include former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and singer Elton John, who founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Despite general praise for his work on HIV/AIDS, Obama’s record isn’t without criticism, particularly in the global fight against the epidemic — an area where some critics have questioned whether former President George W. Bush accomplished more than his successor.

In his budget request for fiscal year 2013, Obama bumped up domestic spending for HIV/AIDS work, including a $102 million increase in funds for the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program from the previous year’s allocation of $1 billion. But the request cut the administration’s signature program in the global AIDS fight, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, by more than a half billion dollars, or almost 13 percent.

Bush established PEPFAR to provide anti-retroviral treatment to people with AIDS overseas. The HIV Medicine Association criticized the cut when the request was made public, saying the amount allocated “falls short” of support needed, although the White House contended at the time the administration was doing more with less funding and the cost of providing treatment for AIDS patients has fallen 50 percent since 2008.

Carney denied any connection between the cut in PEPFAR funds and any apparent hesitation in accepting the invitation to speak at the conference out of fear the president wouldn’t be well-received by global AIDS activists during his speech as a result of these cuts.

“Again, you’re connecting things, and I just don’t have an update for you on the president’s schedule,” Carney said.

Hujdich, who’s been at each conference since their start in Amsterdam 20 years ago, said attendees may take the opportunity to push Obama to do more in the global AIDS effort because the purpose of the conference is to mobilize people, including the president, to act — even though the president’s record on HIV/AIDS is considered substantial.

“I’m sure there will be some that will feel the need to criticize the president and be negative, but I firmly believe that would be a minority of the attendees,” Hujdich said.”That would come with the territory, but I still believe, all things considered, he is well regarded by the HIV community domestically and internationally.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the name of Brian Hujdich and called HealthHIV an AIDS research organization. The Blade regrets the error.

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Federal Government

RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth

‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.

The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.

“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”

While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.

The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”

Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.

“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”

GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”

Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.

“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.

“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”

“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.” 

Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.

“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”




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The White House

Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador

Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

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U.N. headquarters in New York (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.

Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”

“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.

Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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U.S. Federal Courts

Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy

Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

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Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.

The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”

Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.

“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.

Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.

The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.

Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”

Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.

“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”

“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.

Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.

Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.

The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.

Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.

A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order.  The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.

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