National
Out2Enroll launches LGBT coalition to promote Obamacare under Trump
Initiative seeks to enroll LGBT people in insurance as ACA faces challenges
Out2Enroll has launched a new coalition to encourage LGBT enrollment in Obamacare.
With President Trump taking action seen to undermine Obamacare — such as shortening the window of time for new insurance enrollments — a new LGBT coalition of more than 60 groups is launching to promote insurance options under the law.
Leading the coalition is Out2Enroll, a joint project of the Center for American Progress, the Sellers Dorsey Foundation and the Federal Agencies Project that seeks to enroll LGBT people in insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.
Gautam Raghavan, a member of Out2Enroll and White House LGBT liaison during the Obama administration, said in a statement the perils facing Obamacare under Trump makes the coalition’s efforts all the more important.
“National, state, and local partnership has never been more important to raise awareness about health insurance for LGBTQ people nationwide,” Raghavan said. “If the Trump Administration won’t get the word out, then we will — online through social media and paid ads, in-person at LGBTQ community centers and events and everywhere else that we can. It’s all hands on deck this year and we need to make sure everyone knows their options and their rights.”
Founded in 2013, Out2Enroll for years has undertaken efforts to encourage LGBT people to enroll in insurance programs, taking on the mission under the assumption increased enrollments would lead to lower premiums and deductibles for everyone obtaining health coverage.
Those efforts may have paid off. According to a March report from the Center for American Progress, the rate of low- and middle-income LGBT people who are uninsured has dropped by 35 percent since before the Affordable Care Act’s coverage reforms took effect in 2013.
Out2Enroll co-founder Katie Keith cited that statistic in a statement promoting the importance of the Affordable Care Act for LGBT people.
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the uninsured rate for low- and middle-income LGBTQ people has dropped by an overwhelming 35% since 2013,” Keith said. “That means more LGBTQ people have access to medically necessary services they need, from life-saving HIV drugs to gender affirming health care.”
But the work may be cut out for the new Out2Enroll coalition. As the Republican Congress has sought (unsuccessfully) to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act legislatively, Trump has taken actions his critics say effectively amounts to sabotage of the new law.
For starters, the Trump administration has limited the window for new enrollments to between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 — a reduction from 90 days to only 45 days — and refused to fund education efforts to promote awareness of the enrollment period.
Defenders of Obamacare also cried foul when Trump signed an executive order allowing individuals opt out of Obamacare and purchase skimpier health plans, thereby rising insurance costs for everyone else, and withholding cost-sharing reduction payments to keep premiums down.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement the Trump administration is “doing everything it can to make it far more difficult for people without health insurance to get health care.”
“Even though we’re under attack, we’ve got to fight and educate people,” Keisling said. “LGBTQ people should still expect to be treated fairly and protected from discrimination in health insurance and health care — and transgender people should make sure they enroll in the health insurance they need for 2018.”
Key members in the new coalition include CenterLink’s Center Action Network, Young Invincibles, The Health Initiative, Equality Texas as well as state and local LGBT organizations in 28 states.
David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said in a statement health care “is a vital aspect to sustaining the overall wellness of any community.”
“Last year, 8 out of 10 applicants received a discount on their premiums and most found insurance for $50 to $100 per month,” Johns said. “The ACA has made significant progress in reducing the uninsured rate of among the African American community, the LGBTQ community and among the entire American population.”
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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