News
White House: End to trans military ban ‘updates outdated policy’
Earnest declines to say whether change underscores risk to LGBT rights in election
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said ending the trans military ban “updates outdated policy.”(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Earnest made the remarks under questioning from the Washington Blade on whether the White House had a hand in encouraging Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to move forward Thursday with implementing openly transgender military service.
“This is something Secretary of Defense Carter wanted to review,” Earnest said. “He announced a few months he wanted to take a look at this policy. At that point, he had described the policy as outdated. So he conducted this review consistent with the priority that he has placed on making sure that our Department of Defense and our armed forces are ready and well-prepared to defend the country, and he’s come to the conclusion that the best way to do that is to update this outdated policy.”
Earnest added Carter made the decision on his own, but the result is “certainly one that is supported by the commander-in-chief.”
Asked if that meant the Pentagon made the decision without input from the White House, Earnest said President Obama and Carter “had an opportunity to discuss” the policy change before it was made.
“The secretary of defense had the responsibility and assumed the responsibility to conduct this review,” Earnest said. “Obviously, the president and the secretary of defense have had an opportunity to discuss it, but this is a review that was conducted by the secretary of defense and he did so focused on the priority that he places on military readiness and he made an observation that is consistent with the president’s view, which is our country and our military is best served when everybody who’s most qualified to serve in our military has the opportunity to do so.”
The change is regulatory and a future administration hostile to openly transgender service could put the ban back in place, but Earnest declined to say whether that underscores the potential risk to LGBT rights in the upcoming election.
“I’ll let individual voters make their own determinations about this,” Earnest said. “The president and the secretary of defense agree on this principle and both men certainly belief that it enhances our national security to live up to this principle, so frankly this is not a decision that’s rooted in politics. This is rooted in something more important, which is the national security of the United States.”
Also on Thursday, a federal judge issued an injunction blocking the enforcement of a recently enacted “religious freedom” law in Mississippi seen to enable sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination.
As first reported by the Blade, the Obama administration has been reviewing the law and Mississippi could potentially lose federal funds as a result of the statute. Asked if that review is now on hold after the ruling, Earnest said he’s limited in his comments because of ongoing litigation against the law.
“What I can just say in general is that these types of laws raise a number of difficult legal and policy questions and what happens in the courts in these cases will inform of our assessment of these laws and their implications,” Earnest said.
More generally, Earnest said Obama has said numerous times he “strongly disagrees with laws that are focused on taking away the rights of law-abiding Americans.”
“And the truth is, we should be a little more focused on protecting the rights and expanding the rights and enhancing the rights of law-abiding Americans, and that is principle the president has abided by and been guided by during his tenure in public service,” Earnest added. “It’s also been a principle that has guided his assessment of laws that are passed at the state and local level as well.”
Another anti-LGBT law was recently enacted in North Carolina, where President Obama intends to travel on Tuesday to campaign on behalf of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The controversial law nullified pro-LGBT non-discrimination city ordinances in North Carolina and prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms in schools and government buildings consistent with their gender identity.
Along with the Mississippi law, Obama said during a news conference in April the North Carolina statute is “wrong and should be overturned.”
Asked if Obama during his visit to North Carolina would remind voters about his opposition to the law as they head to the polls, Earnest said isn’t aware of the totality of president’s remarks, but the focus will be on Clinton.
“I don’t have detailed remarks to preview for you at this point, but I can tell you that the focus on the president’s remarks will be on Secretary Clinton and his view that she has the character, the toughness, skills and experience to succeed him as president of the United States,” Earnest said.
District of Columbia
Drag queens protest Trump at the Kennedy Center
President attended ‘Les Misérables’ opening night on Wednesday
On Wednesday night, four local drag performers attended the first night of the Kennedy Center’s season in full drag — while President Donald Trump, an outspoken critic of drag, sat mere feet away.
Three queens — Tara Hoot, Vagenesis, and Mari Con Carne — joined drag king Ricky Rosé to represent Qommittee, a volunteer network uniting drag artists to support and defend each other amid growing conservative attacks. They all sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss the event.
The drag performers were there to see the opening performance of “Les Misérables” since Trump’s takeover of the historically non-partisan Kennedy Center. The story shows the power of love, compassion, and redemption in the face of social injustice, poverty, and oppression, set in late 19th century France.
Dressed in full drag, the group walked into the theater together, fully aware they could be punished for doing so.
“It was a little scary walking in because we don’t know what we’re going to walk into, but it was really helpful to be able to walk in with friends,” said drag queen Vagenesis. “The strongest response we received was from the staff who worked there. They were so excited and grateful to see us there. Over and over and over again, we heard ‘Thank you so much for being here,’ ‘Thank you for coming,’ from the Kennedy Center staff.”
The staff weren’t the only ones who seemed happy at the act of defiance.
“We walked in together so we would have an opportunity to get a response,” said Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in full drag before. “It was all applause, cheers, and whistles, and remarkably it was half empty. I think that was season ticket holders kind of making their message in a different way.”
Despite the love from the audience and staff, Mari Con Carne said she couldn’t help feeling unsettled when Trump walked in.
“I felt two things — disgust and frustration,” Carne said. “Obviously, I don’t align with anything the man has to say or has to do. And the frustration came because I wanted to do more than just sit there. I wanted to walk up to him and speak my truth — and speak for the voices that were being hurt by his actions right now.”
They weren’t the only ones who felt this way according to Vagenesis:
“Somebody shouted ‘Fuck Trump’ from the rafters. I’d like to think that our being there encouraged people to want to express themselves.”
The group showing up in drag and expressing themselves was, they all agreed, an act of defiance.
“Drag has always been a protest, and it always will be a sort of resistance,” Carne said, after pointing out her intersectional identity as “queer, brown, Mexican immigrant” makes her existence that much more powerful as a statement. “My identity, my art, my existence — to be a protest.”
Hoot, who is known for her drag story times, explained that protesting can look different than the traditional holding up signs and marching for some.
“Sometimes protesting is just us taking up space as drag artists,” Hoot added. “I felt like being true to who you are — it was an opportunity to live the message.”
And that message, Ricky Rosé pointed out, was ingrained with the institution of the Kennedy Center and art itself — it couldn’t be taken away, regardless of executive orders and drag bans
“The Kennedy Center was founded more than 50 years ago as a place meant to celebrate the arts in its truest, extraordinary form,” said Ricky Rosé. “President Kennedy himself even argued that culture has a great practical value in an age of conflict. He was quoted saying, ‘the encouragement of art is political in the most profound sense, not as a weapon in the struggle, but as an instrument of understanding the futility of struggle’ and I believe that is the basis of what the Kennedy Center was founded on, and should continue. And drag fits perfectly within it.”
All four drag performers told the Washington Blade — independently of one another — that they don’t think Trump truly understood the musical he was watching.
“I don’t think the president understands any kind of plot that’s laid out in front of him,” Vagenesis said. “I’m interested to see what he thinks about “Les Mis,” a play about revolution against an oppressive regime. I get the feeling that he identifies with the the rebellion side of it, instead of the oppressor. I just feel like he doesn’t get it. I feel it goes right over his head.”
“Les Misérables” is running at the Kennedy Center until July 13.
Congress
Padilla forcibly removed from federal building for questioning DHS secretary
Prominent Democrats rushed to defend senator
Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a federal building in Los Angeles after attempting to ask questions of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference on immigration Thursday
The city has been rattled in recent days as protestors objecting to the Trump-Vance administration’s immigration crackdowns clashed with law enforcement and then the president deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines, which was seen as a dramatic escalation.
According to a video shared by his office, the senator, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, introduced himself and said, I have questions for the secretary.” After he was pushed out of the room, officers with FBI-identifying vests told Padilla to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
“Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California,” reads a statement from his office.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the statement continued. “He tried to ask the secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”
Democrats were furious, with many releasing strong statements online condemning the actions of law enforcement officers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), and the state’s other U.S. senator, Adam Schiff (D).
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown also issued a statement: “A sitting U.S. senator should be allowed to ask a Cabinet secretary a question at a press conference — in his own state, on an issue affecting his constituents — without being violently thrown to the floor and handcuffed. Everyone who cares about our country must condemn this undemocratic act. Full stop.”
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Chrys Kefalas and Salah Czapary on their new venture, the Yala Greek Ice Cream Shop, which will open in Georgetown, at 3143 N St. N.W., around July 4.
Kefalas is the CEO and founder, Czapary is the co-founder/director of experience and operations. The third co-founder is Steve Shyn, COO. From what I hear Chrys and Salah will at times both be doing the scooping to the lucky people who stop by their shop. The word “Yala” is a play on the Greek word for “milk,” and fittingly, Yala Greek Ice Cream is made using hand-crafted techniques passed down through three generations of Greek ice cream makers.
Kefalas told the Blade, “This is not frozen yogurt, just inspired by Greek flavors or a trendy twist on gelato. This is true Greek ice cream, finally making its American debut. It is crafted with farm-fresh milk from Maryland, Greek yogurt and honey, fruit preserves from the Mediterranean, and ingredients sourced directly from Greece, Italy, and the Middle East, including premium pistachios and sustainably harvested vanilla.”
The two come from different backgrounds. Kefalas has a family in the restaurant business but is currently the head of the brand division at the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a former Justice Department attorney; worked as Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech writer; Gov. Bob Erlich’s counsel in Maryland; and ran for U.S. Senate in Maryland (endorsed by the Baltimore Sun). Born and raised in Baltimore, he’s a Washingtonian of nine years. He told the Blade, “Yala Ice Cream is a tribute, a legacy, and a love letter across generations.” He spent his early years working in his grandfather’s restaurant in Baltimore, Illona’s. Kefalas hopes, “Just like Greek yogurt changed everything, Greek ice cream is going to set the new standard for ice cream. But, for us, it isn’t just about ice cream; it’s about making my Papou, my grandfather, proud.”
Many people in D.C. know Czapary. He is the son of a Palestinian refugee, and Hungarian immigrant, and a longtime Washington, D.C. resident. Czapary served as a police officer and community engagement leader with the MPD. He then ran for D.C. Council, and although didn’t win, was endorsed by the Washington Post. After that race, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser realized how accomplished he is and asked him to join her administration, where he served as director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture.
Czapary told the Blade, “We’re bringing the first authentic Greek ice cream shop to the U.S., and we’re doing it with heart. We’re building a space where kindness, community, and a scoop of something extraordinary come together. Our Georgetown scoop shop is designed to be a welcoming haven where every guest feels a sense of belonging.”
Drag queens protest Trump at the Kennedy Center
Padilla forcibly removed from federal building for questioning DHS secretary
Pride and Progress: Supporting LGBTQ+ Communities in Quitting
Comings & Goings
Indigo Girls coming to Capital One Hall
WorldPride recap: Festival, parade, fireworks, and Doechii
Judge temporarily blocks executive orders targeting LGBTQ, HIV groups
PHOTOS: WorldPride Parade
PHOTOS: WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert
