News
White House won’t predict whether Trump will undo LGBT orders
Many fear president-elect will reverse executive actions
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
On the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise win, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest wouldn’t say whether he thinks the new president would reverse the Obama administration’s LGBT executive actions.
In response to a question from the Washington Blade on whether the White House could protect them, Earnest declined to speculate “about what President-elect Trump may or may not do,” but insisted President Obama undertook those actions “with a long-term perspective.”
“His approach to policymaking has been to be cognizant of the long-term implications of the decisions he’s making and it means that he’s making these decisions with the assumption that the decisions will be durable, they’ll be in place for some time and that the benefits that the American people will enjoy as a result of those decisions will be present for a long time,” Earnest said. “So that’s been his approach since his first day in office, but ultimately the approach that President-elect Trump takes is one that he alone will determine.”
Many fear Trump, who has pledged to undo Obama’s executive actions he thinks are unconstitutional or harmful to business, would reverse the president’s executive actions in favor of LGBT rights, such as the 2014 directive prohibiting anti-LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors. Trump has already said he’d rescind the Obama administration guidance barring schools from discriminating against transgender students, including by barring them from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity.
Trump also said he would appoint to the U.S. Supreme Court justices in the mold of the late U.S. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, which could conceivably reverse the decision in favor of same-sex marriage nationwide, although such an outcome would be difficult to achieve.
Asked for President Obama’s message to LGBT people as well as other groups, such as immigrants and Muslims, who fear persecution under a Trump administration, Earnest said people who believe “passionately and strongly” about LGBT issues should continue to stand up for what they believe.
Echoing remarks President Obama made in the White House Rose Garden on Trump’s win, Earnest said “progress in our country hasn’t moved along a straight line and progress that we make in some of these areas is characterized by two steps forward and one step back.”
“Sometimes it’s characterized by delayed progress,” Earnest said. “The observation President Obama would make is the best response to that is not to lose hope, or to be cynical, or to withdraw from the public discourse. It actually calls for greater engagement. It calls for more people who passionately and strongly feel about these issues to stand up for what they believe in.”
Earnest noted the nation is committed to democratic institutions, which he said serve both the American people well and are important for our leaders to rely on because they have “served very well some of country’s greatest presidents.”
“Our country has benefited from a steadfast commitment to a set of democratic institutions, and these institutions have been durable even through a civil war, through a couple of world wars, through financial calamities, and the president has enormous confidence and faith in those institutions, in part, because those institutions are made up of patriotic Americans,” Earnest said.
Earnest drew on remarks Hillary Clinton made Wednesday in her concession speech, saying she put it best when she said, “It’s worth fighting for what’s right.”
“I think Secretary Clinton intended that as very good advice for people who may be feeling discouraged today, and it’s understandable that people are feeling discouraged because you’re going to be disappointed when the candidate that you supported in the election doesn’t win,” Earnest said. “But even the losing candidate in this case does not think that should be used as an excuse to withdraw from the public debate and public discourse. If anything, it should serve as a motivation to become even more deeply engaged and more deeply involved and not just in a presidential election.”
In June, the Washington Blade published an article on Obama’s executive actions related to LGBT rights, as compiled by the Center for American Progress, that a President Trump could undo. Here’s the list:
Obama’s LGBT executive actions Trump could undo
∙ Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
∙ Final rule in May 2016 that protected LGBT people from discrimination in healthcare and insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
∙ Prison Rape Elimination Act implementation regulations in May 2012 to directly protect LGBT people.
∙ Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity Rule in February 2012, protecting LGBT people in all HUD-funded programs.
∙ Comprehensive guidance in May 2016 on their interpretation of Title IX, clarifying that public schools receiving federal funding must treat transgender students in accordance with their gender identity.
∙ Guidance in July 2013 that all immigration visa petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse would be reviewed in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse.
∙ The Global Equality Fund, launched in 2011, which supports programs that advance the human rights LGBT persons around the world.
∙ Public endorsement of the Equality Act in November 2015, supporting comprehensive federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people.
Source: Center for American Progress
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
National
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Top editorial staff let go last week
Former staff members at the Advocate and Out magazines revealed that parent company Equalpride laid off a number of employees late last week.
Those let go included Advocate editor-in-chief Alex Cooper, Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto, brand partnerships manager Erin Manley, community editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferriére, and Out magazine staff writers Moises Mendez and Bernardo Sim, according to a report in Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper, who joined the company in 2021, posted to social media that, “Few people have had the privilege of leading this legendary LGBTQ+ news outlet, and I’m deeply honored to have been one of them. To my team: thank you for the last four years. You’ve been the best. For those also affected today, please let me know how I can support you.”
The Advocate’s PR firm when reached by the Blade said it no longer represents the company. Emails to the Advocate went unanswered.
Equalpride on Friday announced it acquired “Them,” a digital LGBTQ outlet founded in 2017 by Conde Nast.
“Equalpride exists to elevate, celebrate and protect LGBTQ+ storytelling at scale,” Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill said according to Hollywood Reporter. “By combining the strengths of our brands with this respected digital platform, we’re creating a unified ecosystem that delivers even more impact for our audiences, advertisers, and community partners.”
It’s not clear if “Them” staff would take over editorial responsibilities for the Advocate and Out.
In an official statement released at the reveal event Capital Pride Alliance described its just announced 2026 Pride theme of “Exist, Resist, Have the Audacity” as a “bold declaration affirming the presence, resilience, and courage of LGBTQ+ people around the world.”
The statement adds, “Grounded in the undeniable truth that our existence is not up for debate, this year’s theme calls on the community to live loudly and proudly, stand firm against injustice and erasure, and embody the collective strength that has always defined the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a reference to the impact of the hostile political climate, the statement says, “In a time when LGBTQ+ rights and history continue to face challenges, especially in our Nation’s Capital, where policy and public discourse shape the future of our country, together, we must ensure that our voices are visible, heard, and unapologetically centered.”
The statement also quotes Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President Ryan Bos’s message at the Reveal event: “This year’s theme is both a declaration and a demand,” Bos said. “Exist, Resist, Have Audacity! reflects the resilience of our community and our responsibility to protect the progress we’ve made. As we look toward our nation’s 250th anniversary, we affirm that LGBTQ+ people have always been and always will be part of the United States’s history, and we will continue shaping its future with strength and resolve,” he concluded.
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