News
First steps of Pentagon review on trans service underway
Top brass to meet on lifting prohibition based on gender identity
The first steps of the review of the transgender military ban are underway. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the working group established to examine openly transgender military service is set to hold its first meeting on Monday.
“The working group will be comprised of military and civilian personnel from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the various military services and the Joint Staff and will look at the policy and readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly in the U.S. military,” the official said.
According to USA Today, key issues for the Pentagon to resolve are housing for transgender troops, what uniforms they’ll be permitted to wear and medical treatments. It’s unclear at this point if the military intends cover transition-related care for transgender service members.
In a memo dated July 28 and obtained Wednesday by the Washington Blade, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter outlines his plan for transgender service that he announced earlier this month. The memo seeks to protect transgender troops from expulsion and directs officials to develop a plan within six months to incorporate those troops into the ranks.
“The working group will start with the assumption that transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified, and shall present its recommendations to me within 180 days,” Carter says.
Carter writes in the memo as of July 13 no service member may be involuntarily separated or denied reenlistment on the basis of gender identity without the personal approval of a senior civilian official — an apparent attempt to limit or halt further discharges. The senior civil official given this authority is Brad Carson, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, who’s also leading the working group.
Although repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enabled openly gay people to serve in the U.S. military, transgender troops are prohibited from serving openly in the armed forces under DOD Instruction 6130.03, which calls for separation of service members who undergo gender reassignment or have “psychosexual conditions” that include transvestitism or transsexualism.
Amid building pressure from LGBT advocates to lift the trans ban, Carter announced last month he intends to set up a working group that over a six-month period is set to examine the policy with a bias toward allowing Americans to serve in the armed forces regardless of gender identity and raised the authority to discharge individuals in the armed forces on the basis of gender identity.
Sue Fulton, president of the LGBT military group SPARTA, said the process underway at the Pentagon is “moving forward with appropriate speed.”
“Pentagon leaders recognize the problems currently facing unit commanders, who have been trying to support their transgender troops under unwieldy and confusing regulations,” Fulton added. “The next few months will allow the Working Group to bring a hodgepodge of outdated personnel and medical policies into alignment with current medical understanding; the result will strengthen the force and keep good troops where we need them.”
Aaron Belkin, director of the San Francisco-based Palm Center, said plenty of material exists that can help guide the Pentagon toward openly transgender military service.
“The research by retired General and Flag Officers as well as the experiences of 18 foreign militaries, who allow transgender troops to serve, show that administrative and medical issues associated with lifting the ban are not complicated or burdensome, and that implementation is easy to get right,” Belkin said.
Maryland
White House threatens Anne Arundel schools over gender identity policy
District faces possible legal action or loss of federal funding
By JESSICA CALEFATI | The Trump-Vance administration on Monday threatened to punish Anne Arundel County’s school system with legal action or the loss of federal funding for allegedly withholding information about a student’s gender identity and transition from the child’s parents.
The U.S. Education and Justice Departments together determined that the suburban Maryland district treats students’ gender identities as confidential medical information that cannot be shared with parents, in violation of federal student privacy law, according to a news release. A federal lawsuit filed against the district earlier this month made similar claims.
“As a mother and a grandmother, it is unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information about children in their care from their own parents,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents’ rights under federal law.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Netherlands
Dutch queen opens World Pride in Amsterdam
Ceremony took place hours before Berlin Pride terrorist attack
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in Amsterdam from Aug. 5-10.
Queen Máxima on July 25 participated in this year’s World Pride opening ceremony in Amsterdam.
The Dutch monarch joined Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema at the ceremony that took place in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Several drag queens also participated in the event.
🌈 Koningin Máxima opent WoldPride 2026 in het Vondelpark in Amsterdam. Het evenement vraagt wereldwijdaandacht voor de zichtbaarheid, emancipatie en mensenrechten van de LGBTQIA+-gemeenschap. Koningin Máxima bezoekt de Sport Pride en de Youth Pride.⁰https://t.co/eXdHJYQX2R pic.twitter.com/wNkjvaTkHY
— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) July 25, 2026
World Pride will take place in Amsterdam through Aug. 10.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who is openly gay, is scheduled to open the World Pride Human Rights Conference on Aug. 5.
Halsema on Sunday told reporters that authorities will bolster security measures “where necessary” in response to the terrorist attack at Berlin’s annual Pride march the day before that left one person dead and 29 others injured.
Obituary
Gary Sutton, known for ‘warmth and laughter,’ dies at 62
College Park resident had passion for gardening, watercolor painting
Gary A. Sutton, a longtime resident of College Park, Md., who was an active member of several D.C. area LGBTQ social organizations before and after his retirement as a federal government worker, died on July 17. He was 62.
His partner of 35 years, Edward Leddy, said the cause of death was a heart attack.
A write-up on Sutton’s life that Leddy helped prepare for the funeral home where a celebration of life for Sutton will be held on Aug. 15 says Sutton’s life “was filled with warmth and laughter” and he was a “cherished son” of the community in Prince George’s County, Md., where he lived for nearly all of his life.
He graduated from the county’s Crossland High School in Camp Springs, Md., shortly before he “dedicated his career to the Environmental Protection Agency, serving with commitment and integrity,” the write-up says. Leddy said Sutton worked at the EPA’s D.C. headquarters for about 20 years before his retirement.
“Outside of work, Gary was known for his passion for gardening, often found tending to flowers and crafting beautiful landscapes,” the write-up says. “His creative soul shone through his watercolor paintings and intricate ink prints, leaving behind a legacy of artistry,” it says.
“Gary’s life was enriched by his love for sharing meals with friends, where his stories and laughter would light up the room,” the write-up that Leddy helped prepare continues. “He was an active member of several clubs, including Prime Timers, the Four Seasons Garden Club, the Montgomery County Men’s Club, and Ushers, where his presence was always full and appreciated.”
According to Leddy, all those groups, based in the D.C. metro area, had mostly gay/LGBTQ members. He said he and Sutton first met in 1991 at a meeting of the Four Seasons Garden Club. He said the two began dating and soon became a couple before Sutton moved into Leddy’s College Park house in 1994, where the couple lived until Sutton’s passing.
“It’s going to be very different for me now,” Leddy said. “He was very outgoing, loved his stories, loved laughter,” Leddy said, adding that he will miss their eating out with friends and sharing time together at home. He pointed to his and Sutton’s time traveling both across the U.S. and to Europe in past years.
“Gary’s life was a testament to the beauty of laughter, friendship, and heartfelt connections,” the write-up concludes. “He will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him.”
In addition to his partner, the write-up says Sutton is survived by his sister Margo Arnold and her husband Randy, nephews Michael and Brandon Arnold, Brandon’s wife Renee, and a grandniece, Emily Arnold, “all of whom will carry forward his memory and joy.” Also among the survivors are his many friends in the D.C. metro area.
The celebration of life is scheduled to take place Saturday, Aug. 15, from 2-4 p.m. at the Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home at 4400 Powder Mill Road in Beltsville, Md.
Further details of the event and the ability to sign and post messages to an online guestbook can be accessed here.
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