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Spicer hints at coming action on anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom’ order

Trump transition official says directive being redrafted and coming soon

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Sean Spicer, gay news, Washington Blade

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says he expects something on a “religious freedom” executive order.

Amid renewed concerns President Trump would sign a “religious order” undermining LGBT rights, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday he expects the administration would soon “have something.”

Spicer made the remarks in response to a question from the Daily Signal, an arm of the anti-LGBT Heritage Foundation, on whether the order is still coming and whether it would extend beyond the Johnson Amendment, a law Trump has pledged to repeal barring churches from making political endorsements.

“I think we’ve discussed executive orders in the past, and for the most part, we’re not going to get into discussing what may or may not come until we’re ready to announce it,” Spicer replied. “So, I’m sure as we move forward we’ll have something.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the “something” to which Spicer was referring was an actual executive order or a statement on a policy position for the way forward.

Although Trump initially passed up the opportunity to sign a proposed anti-LGBT “religious freedom” executive order at the time of the National Prayer Breakfast during the start of the administration, a recent report in The Huffington Post raised concerns a different order will come soon.

The report quotes Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow at the anti-LGBT Family Research Council who oversaw domestic policy for the Trump transition team, from an interview he had with Sirius XM’s Michelangelo Signorile in which Blackwell says the order is being redrafted and on the way.

“In the final analysis, what we want is an executive order that will meet the scrutiny of the judicial process,” Blackwell is quoted as saying. “If there is no executive order, that will disappoint [social conservatives]. But a good executive order will not. So we’re still in the process.”

Blackwell reportedly said the former director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, Ken Klukowski, had “actually structured” the initial draft order as a legal adviser to Trump’s transition team and is now one of the lawyers “in the process of redrafting it.” Klukowski is now a senior attorney at the Liberty First Institute and a contributor to Breitbart, a conservative website.

The “anchor concept” of the order, Blackwell is quoted as saying, is a directive allowing people in the course of business to refuse services to LGBT people out of religious objections.

“I think small business owners who hold a religious belief that traditional marriage is between one man and one woman should not have their religious liberty trampled upon,” he explained. “I would imagine that that will be, strongly and clearly, the anchor concept [of the order].”

No federal law prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity and an executive order like this would send a signal to individuals they should feel free to discriminate. A federal “religious freedom” executive order wouldn’t preempt state laws barring anti-LGBT discrimination.

Klukowski is also quoted in the Huffington Post article as saying he’s “not at liberty to speak about” the order specifically, but nonetheless expressed confidence Trump would act to protect religious freedom both through judicial appointments and possibly administrative actions.

“And I’m confident,” Klukowski reportedly said, “that the president is showing ― much to the shock of many establishment people who said, ‘There’s no way this’ll happen’ ― that he keeps his promises, even when they’re things that an establishment player would never do. And I’m confident that he’s going to keep his promise when it comes to protection of religious liberty as well.”

Last month, a draft executive order began circulating among federal advocacy groups that would allow persons and religious organizations — broadly defined to include for-profit companies — to discriminate on the basis of religious objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion and transgender identity.

At the time, the White House downplayed the draft executive order and said Trump wouldn’t sign it — at least for the time being. Media reports circulated that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kuskner convinced Trump not to sign the “religious freedom” order and the president wasn’t ever seriously considering doing so.

The White House issued a statement saying Trump would preserve the Obama-era order against workplace discrimination among federal contractors and is “respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights.” That pledge of support was undermined after the administration later rescinded guidance protecting transgender students from discrimination at schools.

Olivia Dalton, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior vice president for communications and marketing, said renewed plans for an anti-LGBT “religious freedom” order shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“Donald Trump and Mike Pence have repeatedly threatened the LGBTQ community, and by their own admission this ‘license to discriminate’ order has been circulating for weeks,” Dalton said. “No one should be surprised — their despicable attack on transgender kids last week showed just how low they’re willing to go.”

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Maryland

White House threatens Anne Arundel schools over gender identity policy

District faces possible legal action or loss of federal funding

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The U.S. Education and Justice Departments together determined Anne Arundel County’s school system violated federal student privacy law by withholding information about a student’s gender identity from the child’s parents. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

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.

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Netherlands

Dutch queen opens World Pride in Amsterdam

Ceremony took place hours before Berlin Pride terrorist attack

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Dutch Queen Máxima opens WorldPride in Amsterdam on July 25, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Royal House of the Netherlands' X account)

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.

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.

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Obituary

Gary Sutton, known for ‘warmth and laughter,’ dies at 62

College Park resident had passion for gardening, watercolor painting

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Gary Sutton

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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