National
DOJ asks Supreme Court to hear two additional DOMA cases
Obama administration has now asked for consideration of four such cases
U.S. Supreme Court (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed legal briefs with the Supreme Court asking justices to take up two additional cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act upon their return from summer recess.
The Obama administration asked the high court to hear Windsor v. United States, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, and Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, which was filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. Both cases are currently pending before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
News of the Justice Department filing the two separate legal briefs was first reported by Reuters. Read the petition in the Pedersen brief here and the petition in the Windsor brief here.
The Justice Department asks the Supreme Court to take up the cases as sort of a backup plan in case justices decline to hear two other DOMA cases they have been asked to review: the consolidated case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services and Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management.
“The Court should hold this petition pending its consideration and disposition of the petitions in Massachusetts and Golinski,” the Pedersen petition states. “Should the Court grant review in either of those cases, it need not grant review in this case. If the Court concludes that neither Massachusetts nor Golinski provides an appropriate vehicle for resolving the question presented, it should grant this petition to ensure a timely and definitive ruling on Section 3’s constitutionality.”
The Justice Department maintains the order in which the Supreme Court should consider the cases is Massachusetts and Golinski, then Pedersen, then the Windsor case. According to the Justice Department, the question of whether the Supreme Court can take up the latter two cases rests on whether plaintiffs “have appellate standing to seek certiorari before judgment.” But the Justice Department says justices must resolve the additional question in the Windsor case of whether New York law recognized the Canadian marriage of the plaintiff, New York lesbian Edith Windsor, at the time of her spouse’s death.
Among the petition’s signers are U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli and Acting Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery, who’s gay and has been litigating against DOMA on behalf of the Obama administration in court.
Both petitions call on the Supreme Court to answer a question that was previously asked by other parties calling on the Supreme Court to review the anti-gay law: Does Section 3 of DOMA violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their state?
The request from the Justice Department follows earlier requests from the Supreme Court to consider these cases from ACLU and GLAD in the wake of district court rulings in favor of plaintiffs against DOMA in the lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones ruled against DOMA in the Windsor case in June. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant ruled against the anti-gay law in the Pedersen case in July. Following those rulings, ACLU and GLAD both asked the Supreme Court to take their respective cases in lieu of waiting for the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to make a decision.
The Justice Department had previously called on the Supreme Court to take up the consolidated Massachusetts case and the Golinski case. The filings on Tuesday mean the Justice Department now has matched all other requests from groups calling on the Supreme Court to take up different DOMA cases.
Mary Bonauto, the lead counsel for the GLAD in the DOMA cases, said the filings by the Justice Department are “procedural” because petitions requesting that the Supreme Court take up these cases were already awaiting justices.
“So now, DOJ is simply adding it’s voice, saying, ‘Yes, these cases — if some reason you don’t take up some other case — these cases are also appropriate for deciding the issue of DOMA’s constitutionality,” Bonauto said. “It is really is procedural as opposed to substantive, simply trying to essentially provide a menu of cases to the Supreme Court from which to choose.”
In February 2011, the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend DOMA against legal challenges in court and that laws related to sexual orientation should be subjected to heightened scrutiny. Previously, the Justice Department had only Golinski to draw upon because courts in the Massachusetts case ruled DOMA was unconstitutional using a rational basis standard. But after the court ruling in the Pedersen case, the Justice Department had another vehicle to express its viewpoint that heightened scrutiny should apply to laws related to sexual orientation.
“Essentially, they opened up this sample because they want a case that applies heightened scrutiny because that fits with their position and Pedersen is the only other case,” Bonauto said. “Pedersen actually does an extremely thorough job of addressing the factors at enormous length. I mean, it’s over 50 pages in the opinion. In the end, the court doesn’t apply heightened scrutiny because it doesn’t need to, but it sets forth a case for heightened scrutiny.”
The ACLU declined to comment on the Justice Department filings.
Now that the Justice Department has sent these petitions, other parties in the cases have until October 12 to respond. The Supreme Court may make its decision on whether to hear the DOMA cases in the week of September 24, but the cases may be held until a later time.
The House Republican-led Bipartisan Legal Advisory Council, under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), has taken up defense of DOMA in the administration’s stead. Legal counsel representing BLAG didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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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