National
Obama talks marriage equality in MTV interview
President optimistic, but says issue should be left at ‘the state level’
President Obama expressed optimism about the advancement of marriage equality during an MTV interview on Friday, but maintained the issue should be left to the states and federal legislation isn’t the appropriate path forward.
Asked by MTV presenter Sway Calloway how the president “will see thing through,” Obama alluded to his personal support for marriage equality, which he announced in May, saying he dropped support for civil unions after conversations with gay couples because “if you’re somehow singling them out, they don’t feel true equality.”
But Obama emphasized marriage should be decided at the state level, and passing federal legislation would that institute marriage equality throughout would be the wrong course of action.
“Historically, marriages have been defined at the state level,” Obama said. “There’s a conversation going on. New York has moved forward with one set of ideas. There’s some other states that are still having that debate, I think for us to try to legislate federally into this area is probably the wrong way to go.”
Obama’s position is consistent with many legal experts who also support same-sex marriage, but say federal legislation would be unconstitutional because it would disregard the nation’s tradition of allowing states to decide who can marry within their borders.
But Obama did say he’d like to see federal action against the Defense of Marriage Act, a law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage that he said should be repealed and has declined to defend in court. The president said he expects the courts will overturn DOMA.
“There are a couple of cases that are working their way through the courts, and my expectation is the Defense against Marriage Act will be overturned,” Obama said.
And Obama expressed optimism that states would act in a way to recognize “everybody fairly” if the decision of same-sex marriage was left for them to decide.
“But ultimately, I believe that if we have that conversation at the state level, the evolution that’s taking place in this country will get us to a place where we are going to be recognizing everybody fairly,” Obama said.
Perhaps in recognition that he’s addressing a younger audience on MTV, Obama predicted that young people — who are shown in polls to overwhelming support same-sex marriage — would be the ones to drive the issue.
“What’s really going to change this is the fact that young people, their attitudes, I think, are going to reflect the future instead of the past,” Obama said.
Watch the clip of the MTV interview here:
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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.
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