News
Will Obama ‘use the pen’ to protect LGBT workers?
President pledges to take executive action if Congress fails to pass agenda items
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney won’t say whether Obama’s use of his pen will include action to protect LGBT workers. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
President Obama pledged this week to take executive action if Congress fails to pass certain items on his legislative agenda, but so far the strategy of bypassing Congress doesn’t extend to the issue of barring discrimination against LGBT workers.
In public remarks before a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Obama said he intends to make clear that Congress isn’t the only path for policy change, saying “we are not just going to be waiting for legislation” to provide aid to Americans.
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said. “And I can use that pen to sign executive orders, and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward in helping to make sure our kids are getting the best education possible, and making sure that our businesses are getting the kind of support and help they need to grow and advance to make sure that people are getting the skills that they need to get those jobs that our businesses are creating.”
That situation could apply to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would bar most employers from engaging in anti-LGBT workplace discrimination. Although the bill passed the Senate last year on a bipartisan basis, it has languished in the House. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he opposes the legislation.
LGBT advocates are jumping on Obama’s remarks as another opportunity to push him to sign the executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.
Fred Sainz, vice president of communications for the Human Rights Campaign, said his organization “certainly hope[s]” the president’s words — and similar words from other administration officials — indicates Obama is preparing to take action to institute LGBT non-discrimination protections.
“The White House’s statements were a perfect description of the executive order that hardworking LGBT Americans need,” Sainz said.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said the “time is right for more action” in the wake of Obama’s words that he’ll use his pen to advance his agenda.
“If politics is local, then all the administration has to do is take a look at what Virginia’s new Gov. Terry McAuliffe did as his first act — signing an executive order that protects LGBT state employees from discrimination,” Carey said. “With one stroke of his pen, the president can immediately improve the lives of LGBT people across the country; we encourage him to use it.”
But the White House maintains the legislative route to protecting LGBT workers from discrimination is the path it prefers.
Under questioning from the Washington Blade, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday he doesn’t “have any change or update” from the administration’s previously stated preference for passage of ENDA over an executive order prohibiting LGBT discrimination among federal contractors.
“So our view has always been that the best way to address this important matter is through broad, comprehensive employment non-discrimination legislation,” Carney said. “And we support action on that legislation in the House so that the president can sign it.”
Asked by another reporter why the president would take executive action to advance his policies on issues such as gun control and education, but not on LGBT discrimination, Carney reiterated the administration’s position.
“We are very focused on the potential for further action in the Congress — for the progress that we’ve seen around the country and in Congress in recognizing that these are fundamental rights that ought to be recognized,” Carney said. “And we expect that Congress will, as I said, get on the road toward progress that so many in this country have been traveling on these issues.”
Obama’s words this week mark a significant change in tone from what he’s previously said on the issue of bypassing Congress and issuing executive orders to enact new policy.
In November during a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in San Francisco, Obama was heckled by an audience member who kept shouting “executive order.” Although the protester didn’t make clear on what issue he was seeking executive action, Obama responded that his belief generally is that he shouldn’t bypass Congress.
“There is no shortcut to politics,” Obama said. “And there’s no shortcut to democracy. And we have to win on the merits of the argument with the American people. As laborious as it seems sometimes, as much misinformation as there is out there sometimes, as frustrating as it may be sometimes, what we have to do is just keep on going, keep on pushing.”
The reason for the change in tone could be attributable to a new face on the White House staff. John Podesta has recently joined the staff as a counselor to Obama. During his time building the Center for American Progress as its founder, Podesta was a strong advocate of use of executive power by the president.
In a 2010 report titled, “The Power of the President: Recommendations to Advance Positive Change,” Podesta advocates for the use of executive power for Obama to advance job creation and economic competitiveness and to improve education, health care and security.
“Concentrating on executive powers presents a real opportunity for the Obama administration to turn its focus away from a divided Congress and the unappetizing process of making legislative sausage,” Podesta writes. “Instead, the administration can focus on the president’s ability to deliver results for the American people on the things that matter most to them.”
Winnie Stachelberg, vice president of external affairs at the Center for American Progress, insisted that Obama has asserted he has the prerogative to exercise executive authority, saying she supports him doing so for LGBT workers.
“I think his comments this week and comments from others who are senior advisers at the White House that he will act if Congress doesn’t is in keeping with what he has said in his first term and in the past year in his second term,” Stachelberg said. “He has been clear that he wants to work with Congress on issues that challenge our country, but where and when Congress won’t act, he will use the authority that he has.”
Obama will likely flesh out what he intends to pursue through executive action during his annual State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress on Jan. 28. Although the details of the speech are under wraps, Obama has already disclosed he’ll talk about mobilizing the country around a national mission of ensuring the economy offers all hardworking Americans a fair shot at success.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, identified another item that Obama should bring up during the State of the Union speech: pushing the U.S. House to finish the job on ENDA.
“We will keep pushing for an ENDA vote in the House of Representatives in 2014, and we hope the president will use the State of the Union Address to call for that vote, but the very best thing he can do right now is lead by example and sign the executive order,” Almeida said.
Advocates of workplace protections pushed Obama to sign the directive prior to his campaign to win a second term, but the White House announced it wouldn’t happen at that time. Despite a presumption the president would sign the measure once re-elected, there was no change in the White House position following Election Day.
After first lady Michelle Obama was heckled during a DNC fundraiser over the executive order, renewed pressure was placed on the White House, and advocates had renewed hopes Obama would announce he would sign the order at the annual Pride reception at the White House. Instead, Obama took the opportunity to renew his call for ENDA passage.
Finally, amid questions over whether Obama would sign the executive order once ENDA made it halfway through Congress and passed the Senate, the White House indicated there was still no change in plans.
Dan Pinello, a political scientist at the City University of New York, didn’t put much stock in the notion that things would change this time around — despite the president’s words.
“My guess is that Obama would not issue an executive order that might unduly upset the business community,” Pinello said. “He’s been fairly deferential to them.”
Pinello added most federal contractors are large enough business entities that they likely have LGBT non-discrimination provisions already in place with regard to LGBT people.
“Thus, there might be significantly diminished returns from such an executive order, especially in light of the antagonism potentially felt by those small contractors who’d feel put upon by the action,” Pinello said. “So I’d be surprised if Obama did it.”
News
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
After 35 years in law and advocacy, Rawle Andrews Jr. returns to his roots
Rawle Andrews Jr. took an indirect path to become executive director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF).
From a psychology major in college to becoming a lawyer, the passion for equity and inclusion that fueled him during his years at AARP and as a professor at Howard and Georgetown universities serves as the foundation for his career in mental health.
Andrews has made it his mission at APAF to prioritize youth mental health — including in schools in D.C. and across the country — and to reduce stigma around mental illness and increase the number of psychiatrists of color practicing in the U.S.
Andrews, who began his educational career studying psychology, said he felt out of place in college when his classmates were pursuing medical careers and he was more interested in law.
“I was the only person in my cohort who was going to law school,” he said. “Everybody else wanted to be a doctor and go to medical school.”
Everything changed for Andrews during the COVID-19 pandemic and after George Floyd was killed by police in Missouri: Those pivotal moments reshaped national conversations about health, race, and inequality, and pushed Andrews to rethink his career.
“I saw people deathly afraid of some disease, but also mortified by the fact that they witnessed somebody die on TV,” he said.
After nearly 16 years working as a lawyer in private practice and 15 years at AARP, Andrews found himself pulled back to mental and “whole body” health.
“My goal in law school was to be a courtroom lawyer all the time. If you had told me in 1990 that I would be a practicing lawyer going to court every day, I would have laughed you out of this room. If you had told me in 2010 that I wouldn’t be an in-house lawyer every day … I would have laughed you out of this room,” he said. “Everybody thinks you’re going to go straight from A to B. Life doesn’t work A to B.”
Now, Andrews says, he has the “ability to serve the whole house.” He can help “the eight-year-old who’s struggling in middle school … the parent who’s trying to get that child through, but also caring for an older loved one … who might have some cognitive decline or mobility challenges.”
Building a pipeline of Black mental health professionals
In his role at APAF, Andrews has his sights set on increasing the number of psychiatrists nationwide by reducing barriers to study and success, particularly for practitioners of color, who are vastly underrepresented.
Only about 5% of physicians are Black, and the number for Black psychiatrists is even lower at just 2%, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Widespread stigma around mental illness in communities of color, combined with “systemic barriers that keep persons of color from getting into medical school and matching for residency with teaching hospitals after graduating,” have contributed to the low numbers, Andrews says.
Financial pressures, limited residency slots, and a lack of exposure to psychiatry as a viable career all play important roles in limiting Black representation in the field. At the same time, stigma surrounding mental health — especially in Black communities — can discourage both patients and future physicians, according to Andrews.
He explains that this stigma is rooted in underlying fear, shame, and historic discrimination, and the only way to deal with those issues is directly. If you break those down, Andrews said, you can actually address them.
There are signs of change, though. “In the digital world, more and more people are seeing and talking about mental health all the time,” Andrews said. “And I believe more and more young doctors of all colors are deciding, ‘we need more psychiatrists, and I want to be a part of that solution.’”
Not having enough psychiatrists of color has far-reaching consequences. If you are a “non-diverse” physician or a physician practicing without humility or cultural competency, you may over-diagnose or misdiagnose a patient, said Andrews. You might assume a patient has symptoms due to your own cognitive biases.
A 2024 study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine revealed that mistrust and suspicion were high among dozens of Black patients with serious mental illness, who said they felt doctors did not take their concerns seriously or took a condescending tone with them during appointments.
This type of treatment does not promote trust or disclosure, Andrews said. “What is my advantage to be vulnerable with people who don’t think much of me, because you already thought I was broken?”
To combat medical racism and bias, APAF runs one of the largest psychiatry pipeline programs in the world. It provides more than 1,000 medical students from underrepresented and marginalized communities with training and professional development. Programs like the Diversity Leadership Fellowship emphasize cultural competency and evidence-based practices to better serve diverse groups and at-risk populations.
These programs have had tangible success in producing leadership in the field of psychiatry: APA’s CEO Dr. Marketa Wills, the first CEO of color and first female CEO in the APA organization’s 180-year history, was a trainee with the APAF nearly three decades ago.
Despite efforts to make healthcare more equitable for patients of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community, many experts believe that racism and biases are more deeply ingrained in the system than many realize. For example, a 2019 study found that Black patients suffering from depression are often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, and a 2016 study revealed that many doctors wrongly believe that Black patients have higher thresholds for pain tolerance.
“If you don’t have cultural humility or cultural competency, you could over-diagnose somebody because you’re looking for them to be ADHD, you’re looking for them to be bipolar, you’re looking for them to be schizophrenic,” said Andrews. “And then, because of the fears, the stigmas, the shame, people don’t want to go and get tested either.”
Youth mental health focus
Andrews says many fear that telling someone else about their struggles will cause that person to look down on them. That unwillingness to share about mental health challenges can start at a young age.
That’s why the APAF has partnered with local organizations in the Washington, D.C., area to help young people address mental health concerns. One of the programs, Our Minds Matter, operates in D.C.-area schools and other states to educate students on signs of emotional distress and how to address it. APAF also runs the Notice.Talk.Act. at School program, which helps train school staff to recognize and address student mental health issues and connect them to resources. The program was recently adopted at Jefferson Middle School Academy.
The program is “the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of mental health,” Andrews said. “How do I notice signs and symptoms of distress in a student? How do I create an open space to talk and be a better active listener with a student who wants to share their mental health concerns and then act?”
APAF’s program, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and free to schools, trained about 890 school staff members across the country in 2024, and boasts a 70% reduction in truancy and 89% reduction in disciplinary referrals, according to the foundation.
Notice.Talk.Act. is not just in schools — there are versions for home, for college, for the workplace.
Andrews hopes that this work with the APAF will reduce the stigma surrounding mental health struggles and improve access to culturally competent care. But he acknowledges there’s still a long way to go.
“We are planting and sowing seeds now and fertilizing the soil and tilling the soil,” he said. “We know that the next generation of doctors is going to look closer to the way the population looks. But ultimately, we still haven’t done enough.”
(This work is part of a partnership between the Washington Blade Foundation and Youthcast Media Group, funded through the FY26 Community Development Grant from the Office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Jebeh Pajibo is a senior at Bard High School Early College DC, one of Youthcast Media Group’s journalism class partners. Sarah Gandluri, a UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore, is an intern and former high school participant with YMG. YMG founder, former USA Today health policy reporter Jayne O’Donnell, contributed to this report.)
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
The ‘X’ returns to court
Trump budget would codify expanded global gag rule
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Police mental health struggles gain growing attention
Cuba under pressure and without answers
