National
Supreme Court next stop for argument gays protected under Title VII
Redress could set up decision in favor of protections nationwide
The U.S. Supreme Court (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key).
The legal team behind a lawsuit seeking redress for a Georgia worker allegedly fired for being a lesbian is poised to seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court, potentially setting up a decision establishing a nationwide prohibition on anti-gay workplace discrimination.
The plan came about after the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta refused on Thursday to rehear “en banc,” or before the full court, a three-judge panel decision against Jameka Evans, a security guard who claims she was targeted for harassment and effectively terminated from her job at Georgia Regional Hospital for being a lesbian.
In March, the three-judge panel ruled Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination on the basis of sex, affords no protections to Evans, rebuking arguments sexual-orientation discrimination is a form a sex discrimination. Cited as reasoning for the decision was legal precedent in the circuit, such as the 1979 decision in Blum v. Gulf Oil Corp.
On Thursday, the full 11th Circuit denied the request filed by Lambda Legal to reconsider that decision “en banc” in a per curiam decision signed by U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez, who’s sitting on the 11th Circuit by designation.
“The Petition(s) for Rehearing are DENIED and no Judge in regular active service on the Court having requested that the Court be polled on rehearing en banc (Rule 35, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure), the Petition(s) for Rehearing En Banc are DENIED,” the decision said.
The 11th Circuit decision against Evans and the refusal to rehear the case “en banc” defies a growing body of casework that has determined sexual-orientation discrimination in the workplace is unlawful under current law based on the prohibition of sex discrimination under Title VII.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency charged with enforcing federal employment laws, ruled in 2015 sexual-orientation is a form a sex discrimination in the Baldwin v. Foxx case. That decision followed the commission’s 2012 decision in Macy v. Holder that determined transgender discrimination is illegal under Title VII.
A number of trial courts and state courts have accepted that line of legal reasoning. In April, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals during an “en banc” review of a lawsuit filed by fired lesbian teacher Kimberly Hively determined her termination was unlawful, becoming the first federal appeals court to find sexual-orientation discrimination is sex discrimination.
Now that the 11th Circuit had ruled the opposite way on the Title VII and all legal remedies in that legal circuit are exhausted, a circuit split has emerged between the 7th and 11th Circuit — the exact kind of situation that would make the Supreme Court step in.
Greg Nevins, counsel to Evans and Employment Fairness Project Director for Lambda Legal, told the Washington Blade what was initially not a clear circuit split among the courts “all changed” as result of the 11th Circuit decision not to rehear the Evans case.
“It’s unbelievable that they did this because they had the oldest — and lamest — precedent of any of them, and to then say, ‘We’re good here,’ is really unthinkable,” Nevins said.
Despite his disappointment, Nevins said the “crystal clear” circuit split leaves a path forward that could lead to the Supreme Court issuing a ruling to make nationwide guidance.
“We’re set up to file for cert before the Supreme Court and ask them to resolve this once and for all and say on a national level that you cannot file people under federal law for being lesbian, gay or bisexual,” Nevins said.
Asked by the Blade when the petition would be filed, Nevins said the legal team is seeking consultation with the plaintiff and others, but nonetheless “our current thinking is they’ve given us the green light, they’ve actually, you could say, forced our hand.”
But if the Supreme Court rules against protections for gay, lesbian and bisexual workers under Title VII as a result of the review, the decision could undo the sexual-orientation protections found by some courts and the EEOC.
Lambda Legal seeks to take up the issue with the Supreme Court two years after its decision in favor of marriage equality nationwide, but shortly after the confirmation of U.S. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.
The Trump-appointed justice — along with U.S. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — dissented in a recent ruling reaffirming that marriage-equality decision in a case overturning a birth certificate decision for lesbian parents by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The court with Gorsuch on the bench also agreed to take up a lawsuit filed by Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, which is asserting a First Amendment right to be able to refuse services for religious reasons to same-sex couples seeking a wedding cake.
Recalling Gorsuch’s admiration for the late U.S. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who despite his anti-gay dissents agreed in the 1998 Oncale decision Title VII should be read broadly, Nevins was the optimistic about the outcome of this case before the Supreme Court and said Gorsuch should pay heed to that decision.
“If Justice Gorsuch is truly a disciple of Justice Scalia and really believes sort of the same textualist arguments that Justice Scalia was a champion of, then we should be just fine,” Nevins said.
State Department
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
April 20 memo outlined anti-transgender rule
Democracy Forward on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records on the State Department’s new bathroom policy.
A memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms” that the State Department issued on April 20 notes employees can no longer use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“The administration affirms that there are two sexes — male and female — and that federal facilities should operate on this objective and longstanding basis to ensure consistency, privacy, and safety in shared spaces,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot told the Daily Signal, a conservative news website that first reported on the memo. “In line with President Trump’s executive order this provides clear, uniform guidance to the department by grounding policy in biological sex as determined at birth.”
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. The sweeping directive also ordered federal government agencies to “effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.”
Democracy Forward’s FOIA request that the Washington Blade exclusively obtained on Tuesday is specifically seeking a copy of the memo that details the State Department’s new bathroom policy. Democracy Forward has also requested “all” memo-specific communications between the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs and the Daily Signal from April 1-21.
Federal Government
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Measures would restrict federal funding for LGBTQ-affirming schools
Republicans have been gaining ground in reshaping education policy to be less inclusive toward LGBTQ students at the state level, and now they are turning their focus to Capitol Hill.
Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide “Don’t Say Gay” bill, doubling down on their commitment to being the party of “traditional family values” by excluding anyone who does not identify with their sex at birth.
The largest anti-LGBTQ education legislation to reach the House chamber is House Bill 2616 — the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or the PROTECT Kids Act. The PROTECT Kids Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Robert Onder (R-Mo.), and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), would require any public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to require parental consent to change a child’s gender expression in school.
The bill, which was discussed during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing, would specifically require any schools that get federal money from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 — which was created to minimize financial discrepancies in education for low-income students — to get parental approval before identifying any child’s gender identity as anything other than what was provided to the school initially. This includes getting approval before allowing children to use their preferred locker room or bathroom.
It reads that any school receiving this funding “shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
LGBTQ rights advocates have criticized both national and state efforts to require parental permission to use a child’s preferred gender identity, as it raises issues of at-home safety — especially if the home is not LGBTQ-affirming — and could lead to the outing of transgender or gender-curious students.
A follow-up bill, HB 2617, proposed by Owens, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, prevents the use of federal funding to “advance concepts related to gender ideology,” using the definition from President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14168, making that an enshrined definition in law of sex rather than just by executive order. There is also a bill making its way through the senate with the same text— Senate Bill 2251.
Advocates have also criticized this follow-up legislation, as it would restrict school staff — including teachers and counselors — from acknowledging trans students’ identities or providing any support. They have said that this kind of isolation can worsen mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth and allows for education to be politicized rather than being based in reality.
David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of government affairs, called this legislation out for using LGBTQ children as political pawns in an ideology fight — one that could greatly harm the safety of these children if passed.
“Trans kids are not a political agenda — they are students who deserve safety and affirmation at school like anyone else,” Stacy said in a statement. “Despite the many pressing issues facing our nation, House Republicans continue their bizarre obsession with trans people. H.R. 2616 does not protect children. It targets them. This bill is cruel, and we’re prepared to fight it.”
This is similar to Florida House Bills 1557 and 1069, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “Don’t Say They” bill, respectively, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, prohibiting the use of pronouns consistent with one’s gender identity, expanding book banning procedures, and censoring health curriculum.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 233 bills related to restricting student and educator rights in the U.S.
National
BREAKING NEWS: Shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Shooter reportedly opened fire inside hotel
Four loud bangs were heard in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, a shooter opened fire inside the hotel outside the ballroom.
Attendees could hear four loud bangs as people started to duck and take cover. During the chaos sounds of salad and glasses were dropped as hotel employees, and guests ducked for cover.
The head table — which included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump, and White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang — were rushed off stage.
“The U.S. Secret Service, in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department, is investigating a shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement. “The president and the First Lady are safe along all protects. One individual is in custody. The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation.”
Trump held a press conference at the White House after he left the hotel.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service,” said Trump.
Trump said the shooter is from California. He also said an officer was shot, but said his bullet proof vest “saved” him.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, interim D.C. police chief Jeffrey Carroll, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, and other officials held their own press conference at the hotel.
Carroll said the gunman who has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and “multiple” knives when he charged a Secret Service checkpoint in a hotel lobby. Carroll also told reporters that law enforcement “exchanged gunfire with that individual.”
Both he and Bowser said the gunman appeared to act alone.
“We are so very thankful to members of law enforcement who did their jobs tonight and made sure all guests were safe,” said Bowser. “Nobody else was involved.”
The Washington Blade will update this story as details become more available.
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