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Hagel fails to impress some LGBT advocates

White House defers LGBT military policy questions to testimony

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Chuck Hagel, gay news, Washington Blade
Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, gay news, Washington Blade

Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel is still facing questions from advocates on LGBT military policy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

LGBT rights supporters are seeking more from Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel in the aftermath of testimony in which he expressed a commitment to gay and lesbian troops.

In written testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hagel built upon earlier comments to express support for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and committed to “move forward expeditiously” on the issue of outstanding partner benefits for gay service members.

LGBT advocates say they appreciate Hagel’s commitment, but want him to make good on his promises and act on LGBT military issues that he hasn’t yet addressed.

The Human Rights Campaign emphasized the importance of Hagel taking action upon confirmation to extend benefits to troops with same-sex partners. Among the outstanding benefits that could be extended administratively are military IDs, joint duty assignments and access to family programs.

“We were glad to see Sen. Hagel’s clear statement of support for gay and lesbian service members and their families,” said HRC Vice President of Programs Fred Sainz. “If confirmed, we expect Sen. Hagel to make good on his statements and act immediately to ensure that all military families have equal access to all military benefits available to them under the law.”

Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said she’s happy Hagel articulated a commitment to gay troops, but hopes he’ll “exercise future leadership” to lift the barriers for transgender service members.

“Sen. Hagel’s commitment toward full implementation of DADT repeal and providing equal benefits to the same-sex spouses of service members was encouraging,” Carey said. “If confirmed, we hope he will exercise further leadership on LGBT issues and work to remove Defense Department barriers that prevent transgender people from serving their country openly.”

Another request came from Allyson Robinson, executive director of OutServe-SLDN, who issued a statement following the hearing calling on Hagel to extend non-discrimination protections in the military to LGBT troops. Currently, gay service members have no recourse for claims of discrimination and harassment other than their chain of command.

“If Sen. Hagel is confirmed, he must use his authority to ban discrimination and guarantee equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of the military,” Robinson said.

GetEQUAL, among the LGBT groups that had come out in opposition to Hagel, seemed to budge a little in the wake of the confirmation hearing, but also was looking for a greater commitment.

Heather Cronk, managing director for GetEQUAL, said she’s glad Hagel made the commitments for gay service members, but is looking now for “specifics behind that commitment” to offer support.

“Our key questions are whether Hagel will implement a non-discrimination policy, since DADT repeal didn’t include one, and whether that policy will immediately allow transgender service members to serve openly,” Cronk said. “If he will answer both of those questions in the affirmative, we’ll be more convinced that his values align with the stated values of the Obama administration.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney deferred Blade requests to elaborate on Hagel’s LGBT military policy views to his previously stated testimony:

Washington Blade: Jay, following the confirmation hearing yesterday, the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN issued a statement saying Sen. Hagel as defense secretary must “use his authority to ban discrimination and guarantee equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the military.” That non-discrimination, unlike the benefits issue, has heretofore gone unaddressed during the confirmation process. Does the White House expect Hagel to make this policy happen if he’s confirmed as defense secretary?

Jay Carney: I would just point you to numerous answers the senator gave in response to questions about his support for the president’s positions on issues regarding LGBT rights, including with regard to service in our military. I don’t have anything more you, but the president’s positions on these issues are clear, and he continues to intend to make progress them as he made clear in his inaugural.

Blade: Sen. Hagel did express in written responses to questions that he’d move “expeditiously” on the benefits issue, and you said last week the issue has the president’s attention. But when will these benefits be enacted?

Carney: Well, I think expeditiously is when they will get attention, as Sen. Hagel rightly answered, and, hopefully, with him at the Pentagon as soon as possible.

Carney’s remarks suggest that LGBT advocates will have to wait for Hagel to take the helm of the Pentagon for action on partner benefits for gay troops as opposed to having them enacted under the watch of outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who’s been under pressure to make the changes.

The time when Hagel will be faced with these issues may come soon. Senate Armed Services Chair Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said during the hearing a committee vote will take place Thursday, and a floor vote should take place soon after.

However, without a single Senate Republican expressing support, questions persist over whether 60 votes are present in the Senate to overcome a filibuster of his nomination.

The Log Cabin Republicans, which took out a full-page ad against Hagel in the New York Times and another in the Washington Post, remains opposed to the Hagel nomination even in the wake of his confirmation hearing.

Gregory Angelo, Log Cabin’s interim executive director, echoed some Republicans who accused Hagel of flip-flopping in his positions as he pursues the position of defense secretary.

“Sen. Hagel did so much flip-flopping, waffling and walking back on his prior statements on Iran, Israel and Iraq yesterday that we find no reason to assume he won’t shift his opinion on his opportunely timed, new-found support for the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ as well,” Angelo said. “Yesterday’s hearings only underscored what Log Cabin Republicans has been saying all along: Chuck Hagel is the wrong choice for Secretary of Defense.”

One key voice in the LGBT community who hasn’t yet articulated a final position on Hagel one way or the other is lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) — even though other Democratic senators who have pro-LGBT records like Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) have come out in favor of the nomination.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” last month, Baldwin said she’d ask Hagel “tough questions” about his vision for the post-“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military but hasn’t yet commented publicly on the issue further. Her office didn’t respond to a request to comment.

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New York

Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced

One of the victims, John Umberger, was D.C. political consultant

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

A New York judge on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of killing a D.C. political consultant and another man who they targeted at gay bars in Manhattan.

NBC New York notes a jury in February convicted Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio of murder, robbery, and conspiracy in relation to druggings and robberies that targeted gay bars in Manhattan from March 2021 to June 2022.

John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, died. Prosecutors said Hamilton, Barroso, and DeMaio targeted three other men at gay bars.

The jury convicted Hamilton and DeMaio of murdering Umberger. State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison.

Barroso, who was convicted of killing Ramirez, received a 20 years to life sentence.

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National

Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information

Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Nine private medical and public health advocacy organizations, including two from D.C., filed a lawsuit on May 20 in federal court in Seattle challenging what it calls the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s illegal deletion of dozens or more of its webpages containing health related information, including HIV information.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS itself, and several agencies operating under HHS and its directors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.

“This action challenges the widespread deletion of public health resources from federal agencies,” the lawsuit states. “Dozens (if not more) of taxpayer-funded webpages, databases, and other crucial resources have vanished since January 20, 2025, leaving doctors, nurses, researchers, and the public scrambling for information,” it says.

 “These actions have undermined the longstanding, congressionally mandated regime; irreparably harmed Plaintiffs and others who rely on these federal resources; and put the nation’s public health infrastructure in unnecessary jeopardy,” the lawsuit continues.

It adds, “The removal of public health resources was apparently prompted by two recent executive orders – one focused on ‘gender ideology’ and the other targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) programs. Defendants implemented these executive orders in a haphazard manner that resulted in the deletion (inadvertent or otherwise) of health-related websites and databases, including information related to pregnancy risks, public health datasets, information about opioid-use disorder, and many other valuable resources.”

 The lawsuit does not mention that it was President Donald Trump who issued the two executive orders in question. 

A White House spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit. 

While not mentioning Trump by name, the lawsuit names as defendants in addition to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Matthew Buzzelli, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

The 44-page lawsuit complaint includes an addendum with a chart showing the titles or descriptions of 49 “affected resource” website pages that it says were deleted because of the executive orders. The chart shows that just four of the sites were restored after initially being deleted.

 Of the 49 sites, 15 addressed LGBTQ-related health issues and six others addressed HIV issues, according to the chart.   

“The unannounced and unprecedented deletion of these federal webpages and datasets came as a shock to the medical and scientific communities, which had come to rely on them to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, assist physicians and other clinicians in daily care, and inform the public about a wide range of healthcare issues,” the lawsuit states.

 “Health professionals, nonprofit organizations, and state and local authorities used the websites and datasets daily in care for their patients, to provide resources to their communities, and promote public health,” it says. 

Jose Zuniga, president and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the organizations that signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the deleted information from the HHS websites “includes essential information about LGBTQ+ health, gender and reproductive rights, clinical trial data, Mpox and other vaccine guidance and HIV prevention resources.”

 Zuniga added, “IAPAC champions evidence-based, data-informed HIV responses and we reject ideologically driven efforts that undermine public health and erase marginalized communities.”

Lisa Amore, a spokesperson for Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ supportive health services provider, also expressed concern about the potential impact of the HHS website deletions.

 “As the region’s leader in HIV care and prevention, Whitman-Walker Health relies on scientific data to help us drive our resources and measure our successes,” Amore said in response to a request for comment from  the Washington Blade. 

“The District of Columbia has made great strides in the fight against HIV,” Amore said. “But the removal of public facing information from the HHS website makes our collective work much harder and will set HIV care and prevention backward,” she said. 

The lawsuit calls on the court to issue a declaratory judgement that the “deletion of public health webpages and resources is unlawful and invalid” and to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering government officials named as defendants in the lawsuit “to restore the public health webpages and resources that have been deleted and to maintain their web domains in accordance with their statutory duties.”

It also calls on the court to require defendant government officials to “file a status report with the Court within twenty-four hours of entry of a preliminary injunction, and at regular intervals, thereafter, confirming compliance with these orders.”

The health organizations that joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs include the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy Health, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society. 

The Fast-Track Cities Institute and International Association of Providers of AIDS Care are based in D.C.

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U.S. Federal Courts

Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections

Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent

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Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Screen capture: YouTube)

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.

While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”

“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.

The case, which was brought by the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, presents the greatest setback for LGBTQ inclusive workplace protections since President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on the first day of his second term directing U.S. federal agencies to recognize only two genders as determined by birth sex.

Last month, top Democrats from both chambers of Congress reintroduced the Equality Act, which would codify LGBTQ-inclusive protections against discrimination into federal law, covering employment as well as areas like housing and jury service.

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