National
Supreme Court asked to hear Conn. DOMA case
Petition means Supreme Court asked to hear four DOMA cases
The New England-based LGBT group behind successful litigation against the Defense of Marriage Act is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear yet another case in which a district court ruled against the anti-gay law.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is asking the Supreme Court to take up the case of Pedersen et al v. Office of Personnel Management after U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant of Connecticut last month ruled against Section 3 of DOMA as a result of the litigation. The organization had earlier called on the high court to take up its case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, which led the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn DOMA.
The question presented to the Supreme Court is the same question presented in other case: Does Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as applied to legally married same-sex couples?
The 33-page petition also lays out similar arguments why the Supreme Court should take up DOMA and strike it down as unconstitutional. Among them are the case raises questions of national importance that are ripe for review and the case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to rule that laws related to sexual orientation should be subjected to heightened scrutiny — a position held by the Obama administration.
But GLAD also argues that Pedersen case should be taken up by the Supreme Court because the six married couples and a widower who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit demonstrate the many ways in which same-sex couples are affected by DOMA, such as the federal income tax, Social Security, federal employee and retiree benefits, the Family & Medical Leave Act and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act.
“DOMA is not a narrow statute that discriminates against gay men and lesbians in discrete contexts, but rather a broad- based enactment whose effects pervade the entire U.S. Code,” the petitions states. “Because they have been disadvantaged in so many different ways, the Petitioners in this case best represent the range of DOMA’s effects on married gay men and lesbians.”
The petition means the Supreme Court has been asked to hear a total four cases within the course of a couple months challenging DOMA. Others lawsuits in which both opponents and proponents of DOMA have called on justices to consider the anti-gay law are Windsor v. United States and Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, which have led district courts to overturn DOMA, and the consolidated case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Health & Health Services.
The Pedersen case has seen activity at the circuit court level, where it currently sits. The U.S. Justice Department, which has stopped defending DOMA and has assisted in efforts to litigate against it, has appealed the case to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals even though the House Republican-led Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which has taken up defense of the DOMA, hasn’t yet taken action following the district court decision.
The Supreme Court won’t be able to decide whether it will hear the Pedersen case or other DOMA cases until it returns from summer recess. Most observers expect the justices to take up consideration of the statute banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
PHOTOS: Fairfax City Pride
EXCLUSIVE: Pelosi reflects on four decades of LGBTQ advocacy
D.C. prepares to party as Pride celebrations kick off Saturday
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
