National
Trump awards Medal of Valor to lesbian officer Crystal Griner
Ceremony takes places day after president announces transgender military ban
President Trump awarded the Medal of Valor to Crystal Griner (Screenshot via YouTube)
The day after he sought to curtail LGBT participation in the nation’s armed forces by announcing a ban on transgender military service, President Trump awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to a lesbian police officer credited with saving lives during a mass shooting.
Trump gave the Medal of Valor on Thursday to Capitol Police Special Agent Crystal Griner — as well as Special Agent David Bailey — for thwarting shooter James T. Hodgkinson during an incident at a Republican congressional baseball practice last month. Hodgkinson wounded five people, including House Majority Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Other medal recipients were three Alexandria Police Department officers who arrived later on scene: Nicole Battaglia, Kevin Jobe and Alexander Jensen.
During his remarks at the East Room in the White House, Trump recalled visiting Griner at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where she was taken and recovered with her same-sex spouse beside her after being shot in leg seeking to prevent further tragedy.
“Despite their injuries, both officers heroically continued to face down the gunman until they brought him down,” Trump said. “And he had rifles; they had handguns. That’s a big difference.”
Griner, with a cast on her lower leg, sat in a chair for most of the ceremony while the other four recipient stood next to her. Griner stood on crutches when Trump draped the medal around her neck.
Also speaking at the event — and commending Griner as well as the other officers — was Vice President Mike Pence.
“These five officers exemplify the best of law enforcement in this country, and they honor us by their presence today,” Griner said.
Trump included his remarks recognition in particular for the law enforcement community, whose support he’s sought to cultivate as president.
“The assault on June 14th reminded us that evil exists in this world,” Trump said. “But it also reminded us that heroes walk in our midst, that love triumphs over tragedy, and that our resolve is stronger than ever. We praise America’s law enforcement — and I’ve been praising them for a long time, they are unbelievable people — for doing a tough — for doing the tough jobs, the dangerous jobs, and sometimes thankless job with tremendous integrity, devotion, and courage.”
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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