News
LGBT Equality Caucus doubles its membership
Congressional group grows to 102


Co-chairs of the LGBT Caucus include Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The congressional caucus dedicated to LGBT issues has nearly doubled its membership, rebounding after experiencingĀ attrition in recent years as a result of shifting to dues-based membership.
The LGBT Equality Caucus announced on Tuesday it has started the 115th Congress with 102 members, which is nearly double the roster of 53 members at the start of the last Congress.
The caucus is co-chaired by each of the six openly LGBT members of Congress: Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
āOn behalf of the co-chairs, I thank my colleagues in both parties who have joined the LGBT Equality Caucus and pledged to stand for and with the LGBT community,ā Sinema said in a statement. āWhile weāve made significant process in recent years, we still have more work to do and must protect the progress weāve made. Our caucus continues to work to ensure every American has the fundamental freedom and opportunity to pursue the American Dream.ā
The number of members at the start of 2015 dropped precipitously from 113 in the previous Congress to 53 after the LGBT Equality Caucus instituted $400 in annual dues for members.
Dues payment for congressional caucuses isn’t unusual. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has a dues requirement for members.
The 11 vice chairs of the LGBT Equality Caucus are Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Linda T. SƔnchez (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Among the 102 members of the LGBT Equality Caucus are two Republicans: Reps. Ileana-Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.). Both support marriage equality and are considered supporters of LGBT rights.

The government of Tamil Nadu in southern India has proposed a policy that is designed to improve the lives of LGBTQ and intersex people in the state.
The Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission introduced the “Draft Policy for the Welfare of LGBTQIA+ Persons” in July 2023. Key provisions include a 1 percent quota for transgender and intersex people in education and employment. Progress to implement the policy has been hindered because of the governmentās fragmented approach of developing separate policies for different groups within the community.
The Madras High Court in January 2024 acknowledged Tamil Naduās proposed policy and commended the stateās efforts.
The court highlighted key recommendations, such as establishing a State Commission for Sexual and Gender Minorities and introducing quotas, while stressing the need to combat discrimination and violence. The court this month, however, raised concerns about the governmentās separate policies for trans people and the broader LGBTQ community.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh stressed the need for a single, unified policy to effectively address the challenges the LGBTQ community faces. He directed the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department to submit a separate proposal for trans people and a consolidated LGBTQ one by Feb. 17 that would allow stakeholder input and improvements.
The Madras High Court has been actively guiding the Tamil Nadu government towards formulating a unified and comprehensive policy for the LGBTQ community, rather than separate policies for different groups within the community.
Tamil Nadu’s proposal offers several advantages aimed at promoting inclusivity and equality. It would provide healthcare inclusion, recommending the extension of the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme to cover trans-specific medical procedures, such as gender-affirming surgeries, to ensure essential healthcare is accessible. The proposal calls for nondiscrimination policies in all government departments and public authorities that seek to protect LGBTQ people from bias and violence.
The proposal calls for educational institutions to adopt policies that raise awareness and address issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination against students with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. It also suggests the creation of bodies like the Tamil Nadu Council for LGBTQ Persons and District Level LGBTQ Welfare and Justice Committees to coordinate efforts across government departments.
āTamil Nadu is the first state in India to develop a unified policy covering sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, based on a recent Madras High Court directive,ā said L. Ramakrishnan from SAATHII, an organization that works to create an inclusive healthcare system, and a member of the policy drafting committee. āThis is important because critical sensitization interventions for inclusive education, healthcare and employment require understanding of sexual, sexuality, and gender diversity,āĀ
āAt the same time, recognizing the added vulnerabilities of trans and intersex individuals, provisions such as horizontal reservations and free land allocation are proposed only for transgender and intersex individuals,ā added Ramakrishnan.
The proposal, among other things, calls for gender-neutral bathrooms and hostels. It also seeks to protect LGBTQ people from family violence and from corrective rape and so-called conversion therapy that medical providers and faith healers carry out.
The proposed policy would also acknowledge and support relationships outside the traditional marriage framework. It proposes a Deed of Familial Association that would legally recognize queer relationships as the Madras High Court ruled in a case of a lesbian couple who sought protection from harassment. While the deed would offer protection from family and societal harassment, it would not extend legal status or rights associated with marriage or civil unions.
The Indian Supreme Court on Oct. 17, 2023, ruled against marriage rights for same-sex couples.
āWe have long been working and sensitizing the government for a policy,ā said Kalki Subramaniam, a trans activist and artist who founded the Sahodari Foundation, an organization that supports trans people in India. āIt seems to be happening. We, the trans community, demand a separate policy for us because we are the most marginalized and poorest community in the entire LGBTQI spectrum.ā
āI insist on two different policies: One for us, trans and intersex persons, and the other for the LGB community. Practically, it is very much possible,ā added Subramaniam. āThe state government, months ago, held public meetings with the trans community in all districts, and the communityās overall demand is a separate policy. I welcome the commission and insist it should have representatives from trans women, trans men, and intersex communities.ā
She told the Washington Blade the proposed policy is something for which the community has been waiting for years, and is happy to see it on the table. Subramaniam noted the quota, in particular, will ensure equal opportunities in jobs and education.
āTamil Nadu governmentās laudable efforts in building equity for the LGBTQIA+ community stands as a magnificent beacon of hope,ā said Harish Iyer, an Indian LGBTQ activist. āIn times of absolute disregard across the world, this effort puts not just the queer community, but India in the forefront of humanitarian efforts.ā
District of Columbia
Dancing protesters denounce Trumpās Kennedy Center takeover
āThis is an attack, not only on free speech, but on artistsā

Waiting in the windy cold of a 45-degree February day in Washington, Tara Hoot stood in Washington Circle wearing a canary yellow dress, heels, and a rainbow feather boa. Hoot was waiting, along with about 100 others, although most of them were wearing layers of clothes, for a protest to begin.
āI am here because, well, I’m angry at the situation we find ourselves in,ā Hoot told the Blade amid a growing crowd of pro-drag and pro-LGBTQ protesters who gathered behind her. āI’m just so annoyed that this sitting president is attacking a marginalized population. It’s a distraction for the country when everything’s falling apart. The cost of eggs is up there, and inflation is rising, and he’s here attacking a marginalized population in D.C.? It’s like, go do your job, right? It’s immoral what he’s doing, and it’s weak to attack the marginalized population. He’s just showing his own weakness.ā
Last week President Trump promised followers that he would remove anyone that ādo not share our vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” specifically targeting drag performers at the Kennedy Center. On Wednesday he made that goal a reality by removing the 18 Democratic members on the formerly bipartisan Kennedy Center board, replacing them with Trump loyalists.
This raised questions of the legality of removing the board, and his seeming attempt to silence First Amendment rights. As a result, the Kennedy Center issued a statement following Trumpās post.
āPer the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members,ā the statement read. āThere is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”
Of the newly appointed board members, all have stood behind the twice impeached president as he continues to slash the federal government. These loyalists include Richard Grenell, a gay man who served as Trumpās ambassador to Germany in his first term; Usha Vance, the second lady of the United States; Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Patricia Duggan, a philanthropist and top GOP donor.
The newly appointed board then elected Trump as chair.
When asked what Hoot, a local drag icon who has performed at the Kennedy Center, would say to the current board, she was quick with an answer.
āWell darling, they missed their chance!ā Hoot said. āI was running for board president of the Kennedy Center, the people’s princess, I would say. Art is gorgeous and diverse and beautiful, and it’s a way that we all tell our stories. The board needs to keep the heart of the Kennedy Center in mind, no matter who their board chair is. They actually need to have a spine and push back when these ideas that art has to be one thing or another, the board needs to push back and keep the Kennedy Center a people’s place for art.ā
Brooke N Hymen, a self-described āprofessional crossdresserā and trans person explained that to them, the changes in public attitude is more than a silencing of free speech, but an erasure of trans people.
āI find that attacks on drag are not just an attack on my heart, my livelihood, but also a veiled attack on trans people,ā Hymen said. āThey want to code trans people and what they do in their daily expression as drag as a way to ban trans people. So if we don’t stand up against these attacks on drag, trans people are the first people that will be harmed.ā
Hymen went on to say there are clear and simple ways that the board could offset these actions that directly and negatively impact the LGBTQ community.
āMore drag programming, more queer artists, more queer musicians, and more queer casts,ā they said. āTara Hoot was running for board of the Kennedy Center. I don’t know how possible that is under Trump, but I think that it’s a lovely sentiment and something that we should all push for.ā
Putting Hoot back in the Kennedy Center was also on the mind of other participants of the protest dance party. John Borstel, a former arts administrator, also said that appointing someone like Hoot to the board would be beneficialāif only to ensure that someone would speak out at the Kennedy Center.
āGet out and let the bipartisan board back in,ā Borstel said. āGet out and get people who know the arts back in. Let Tara Hoot in here! The drag queen who’s performed at the Kennedy Center. She’s been outspoken about this. She’s gone on record where the Biden appointed and ousted board members won’t even make a public statement about what happened. They’re afraid for themselves. We’ve got drag queens speaking out. The bureaucrats won’t speak up.ā
His sentiment regarding the lack of response from former Kennedy Center officials was echoed in his grievances with other established members of the arts community who didnāt show up at the protest. It did make him proud in a unique way though.
āI have never been prouder than I am tonight, to be a gay man, to be queer, because it’s the queers who have come out to protest it ā but it’s affecting everybody,ā Borstel said. āHe’s going to cut it all down. Everybody should be out here. I worked in the arts sector for over 30 years here. Where are those folks? But the queers are here. And they’re dancing!ā

Bennett Shoop, one of the protest organizers with the Claudia Jones School for Political Education, told the crowd at Washington Circleājust before their march down New Hampshire Avenue to the front of the Kennedy Centerāthat drag is deeply intertwined with Washingtonās history and that ignoring it means erasing that history.
āDrag is really important to D.C. and it’s important to D.C. history,ā Shoop said to the diverse and growing crowd of people listening. āWilliam Dorsey Swann was the first drag queen in the United States, an enslaved person who called themselves āthe queen of drag,ā who threw drag balls right here in this city. Drag is a D.C. institution, one that Trump has decided is going to be one of his top targets for his fascist administration. But it’s not just about drag performers at the Kennedy Center. This administration wants to remove all kinds of gender non-conformity and LGBTQ people at large from public life, just like the Nazis did at the Hirschfeld Institute when they burned all of those books.ā
āThis is D.C.,ā he continued as the crowd cheered him on. āD.C. is the queerest city per capita in the United States. We may not have representation in the federal government, but we do have a fighting spiritā¦He could pass all the executive orders and do all of the fascist takeovers that he wants, but queer and trans people will still be here. You know, we will still dance, and that dance will long outlive them.ā
One of those members of the LGBTQ community who resisted oppression through dance and protest, Shoop explained as he concluded his speech, could be credited with sparking the modern gay rights movement.
āLet us never forget that it was none other than drag king StormĆ© DeLarverie who inspired the Stonewall uprising that led to the gay liberation revolution of the ā70s. Drag was a part of our revolution then, and it must be a part of our revolution now. I just want to end with a quote from the namesake of our school, Claudia Jones, who once said āthat a people’s art is the genesis of their freedom.ā So like our predecessors, let this be the genesis of ours.ā
Following speeches by the other organizing groups, the group of 200 or so walked in the middle of the road toward the Kennedy Center singing and occasionally stopping to dance. Onlookers from apartments along the road opened windows waving at the group, occasionally screaming words of support from stories up.
One of those marching in protest was Jennifer Ives of Germantown, Md. She was bundled up in a coat and hat while holding a sign, dancing along the protest route.
āIām here because I want to support the trans and gay communities,ā Ives told the Blade. āI believe that soldiers should get their hormone treatment, their therapy, their pills. I believe that Trump should get out of the Kennedy Center. I believe that right now, there’s an assault on the trans community, and we just can’t stand for it. So we gotta protest, and we gotta dance.ā
Another participant, dressed in full dragāfrom voluminous black and red hair to a sparkly, tinsel-covered suit and thick white heelsāemphasized that no matter what executive orders are signed or what bans pass through state legislatures, LGBTQ people have always been here and always will be.
āThe main reason is to show that even though these actions have been taken, and though they want to strip us of our power, that we’re still here,ā said drag performer Rhiannon LLC. āI think an important thing that stuck with me after the election, even though we lost, Kamala Harris, her main message was, we’re not going back. And if we let that message die, then we kind of go along with it. So to be here and to be out, it’s awesome.ā
They continued, saying that if they had the ability to say one thing to the Kennedy Center board, it would be two words: āHave integrity. Although Trump may be there for the next four years, you are there after. These actions will follow you, and your job right now is to support the arts. So support the arts.ā
One of the last speeches of the night was delivered directly in front of the Kennedy Center, its marble walls and gold columns providing a final backdrop for the protest. Pussy Noir, another local drag legend, was handed a mic to wrap up the night.
āThis is an intense time for all of us,ā said Noir, who currently has a residency with the Kennedy Center REACH program and performs in drag across the city. āI don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m the main drag queen that brought drag to the Kennedy Center, and with many other drag queens in this city, helped establish it as a real art form.ā
Noir took a moment to look out at the crowd, their faces illuminated by the glow of the Kennedy Center, before finishing with a message of resilience and solidarity for all drag artists ā those currently protesting in front of the Kennedy Center and those performing in hole-in-the-wall gay bars across the country.
āSo no matter what anyone says, If you are a drag performer, you are an artist. If you support drag, you are supporting artists. Right now this is an attack, not only on free speech, but on artists, on small business owners, and I think that’s something that everyone in this country can understand. We must be supportive of each other and kind to each other. More than anything, that is the only way that we can fight this.ā
National
Federal judge blocks Trump’s order restricting gender-affirming care for youth
Seven families with transgender, nonbinary children challenged directive

A federal judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order that blocks President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.
The order by Judge Brendan Hurson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, came in response to a request from the plaintiffs in a lawsuit, filed on Feb. 4, against Trump’s directive.
The plaintiffs are seven families with trans or nonbinary children. They are represented by PFLAG National, GMLA, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, and the law firms Hogan Lovells and Jenner & Block.
Hurson’s temporary restraining order will halt enforcement of Trump’s order for 14 days, but it can be extended. This means health care providers and medical institutions can provide gender-affirming care to minor patients without the risk of losing federal funding.
Families in the lawsuit say their appointments were cancelled shortly after the executive order was issued. Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia, and D.C. stopped providing prescriptions for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other interventions for trans patients as they evaluated Trump’s directive.
The harms associated with suddenly withholding access to medical care for these patients were a major focus of Thursday’s hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for the temporary restraining order.
The president’s āorder seems to deny that this population even exists, or deserves to exist,ā Hurson said, noting the elevated risk of suicide, poverty, addiction, and other hardships among trans people.
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