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Biden Foundation sets up advisory councils for women, LGBT rights

Initiative launched amid speculation of 2020 run

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Joe Biden, Human Rights Campaign, HRC, gay news, Washington Blade, National Dinner

Former Vice President Joe Biden</strong> has created advisory councils for women and LGBT rights.
(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Former Vice President Joseph Biden, among the potential Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election, announced on Monday the creation of two new advisory councils for his foundation: One to advance LGBT rights, the other to end violence against women.

Members of both councils are made up of prominent advocates on women’s and LGBT issues, many of whom are supporters of the Democratic Party.

Individuals named to the LGBTQ Equality Advisory Council include singer Cyndi Lauper, former NBA player Jason Collins, transgender activist Sarah McBride, Judy Shepard, marriage equality advocate Evan Wolfson and former U.S. ambassador to Romania Michael Guest.

Biden said in a statement members of the councils “have devoted their lives to that creed, and we’re lucky to have them lend their expertise to this mission.”

“By working together, we can do more to protect the rights of all people, expand access to opportunity and give every American a chance at a middle-class life,” Biden said. “I am eager for what we will accomplish together.”

According to a statement from the Biden Foundation, the advisory councils will recognize the power of public-private initiatives, serve as ambassadors for the Biden Foundation and guide strategic partnerships to create societal change.

Louisa Terrell, executive director of the Biden Foundation, said in a statement each council member “has made it their life’s work to protect and advance the rights of the most vulnerable.”

“We’re honored to have them volunteer their knowledge to the Foundation as we work together to build a more just society,” Terrell added.

Biden has a record of highlighting the issue of violence against women. As a U.S. senator, he was author of the Violence Against Women Act, a law that was reauthorized in 2013 when he was vice president to include LGBT-specific protections.

On LGBT issues, Biden was also at the forefront. The vice president famously came out for same-sex marriage days before former President Obama and called transgender issues the “civil rights issue of our time” and was active in championing international LGBT human rights.

Lauper, co-founder of the True Colors Fund, highlighted the issue of LGBT youth homelessness in a statement on her membership of the LGBT council.

“In America, up to 1.6 million youth experience homelessness each year. 40 percent of them identify as LGBTQ, compared to the seven percent of the general youth population that is LGBTQ. The True Colors Fund is working hard to change that,” Lauper said. “As a lifelong ally and advocate, Vice President Biden gets it — and today, I’m proud to join the Biden Foundation as we work to make equality a reality.”

The full roster of both advisory councils follows.

LGBTQ Equality Advisory Council
Cyndi Lauper, Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Activist; Founder, True Colors Fund
Sara Ramírez, Tony Award–winning Actress and Activist
Jason Collins, Professional Basketball Player (retired), National Basketball Association
Sarah McBride, National Press Secretary, Human Rights Campaign
Phillip Picardi, Chief Content Officer, Them and Teen Vogue
Judy Shepard, President, Matthew Shepard Foundation
Evan Wolfson, Founder and Former President, Freedom to Marry
Marsha Aizumi, Author, Speaker, Educator, Advocate Member, PFLAG National Board of Directors
Dr. Eliza Byard, Executive Director, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
Ambassador Michael Guest, Former U.S. Ambassador to Romania
Mara Keisling, Founder and Executive director, National Center for Transgender Equality
Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director and Co-Founder, Family Acceptance Project
Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Founding Executive Director, Campaign for Southern Equality; Minister, United Church of Christ
Jacob Tobia, Writer, Producer, Author
Amit Paley, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Trevor Project Precious Davis, Activist, Educator, Public Speaker

Ending Violence Against Women Advisory Council
Justin Baldoni, Actor, filmmaker and activist
Karma Cottman, Founder, Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Black Women; Executive Director, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Jess Davidson, Managing Director, End Rape on Campus
Venkayla Haynes, Regional Advisor, It’s On Us
Rosie Hidalgo, Senior Director of Policy, Casa de Esperanza; Senior Advisor, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
Olivia Hinerfeld, Activist
Vivian Huelgo, Chief Counsel, Task Force on Human Trafficking and Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence of the American Bar Association
Neil Irvin, Executive Director, Men Can Stop Rape
Demetra Lambros, Appellate attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
Zerlina Maxwell, Director of Progressive Programming, SiriusXM
Victoria Nourse, Professor, Georgetown Law School
Nancy Schwartzman, Director, Producer, Mobile App Developer; CEO, Tech 4 Good
Patti Seger, Executive Director, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin
Susan Sorenson, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Andrew Sta. Ana, Director of Legal Services, Day One
Ebony Tucker, Advocacy Director, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence

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Cuba

Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs

National Assembly in July will reportedly debate proposal

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A transgender Pride flag flies over Mi Cayito, a beach east of Havana. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Cuban lawmakers are reportedly poised to consider a proposal that would allow transgender people to legally change the gender marker on their ID documents without surgery.

Cubadebate, a government-run website, on May 11 referenced the proposal in an article about an International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia march in Havana that the National Center for Sexual Education organized.

Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who spearheads LGBTQ issues on the island, is CENESEX’s director.

Cubadebate notes the National Assembly in July will consider an amendment to the country’s Civil Registry Law that “for the first time would allow citizens to determine the sex on their identification cards without the need for a court order or gender assignment surgery.”

Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, and Malta are among the countries that allow trans people to legally change their name and gender without surgery.

Cuba’s national health care system has offered free sex-reassignment surgery since 2008, but activists who are critical of Mariela Castro and CENESEX have said access to these procedures is limited. Mariela Castro, who is also a member of the National Assembly, in 2013 voted against a measure to add sexual orientation to Cuba’s labor code because it did not include gender identity.

The Cuban constitution bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors. Authorities routinely harass and detain activists who publicly criticize the government.

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Maryland

Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill

Md. law named after Carlton Smith

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. A bill that he signed on May 20, 2025, will decriminalize HIV in Maryland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.

State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.

Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.

“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”

Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.

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National

Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information

Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Nine private medical and public health advocacy organizations, including two from D.C., filed a lawsuit on May 20 in federal court in Seattle challenging what it calls the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s illegal deletion of dozens or more of its webpages containing health related information, including HIV information.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS itself, and several agencies operating under HHS and its directors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.

“This action challenges the widespread deletion of public health resources from federal agencies,” the lawsuit states. “Dozens (if not more) of taxpayer-funded webpages, databases, and other crucial resources have vanished since January 20, 2025, leaving doctors, nurses, researchers, and the public scrambling for information,” it says.

 “These actions have undermined the longstanding, congressionally mandated regime; irreparably harmed Plaintiffs and others who rely on these federal resources; and put the nation’s public health infrastructure in unnecessary jeopardy,” the lawsuit continues.

It adds, “The removal of public health resources was apparently prompted by two recent executive orders – one focused on ‘gender ideology’ and the other targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) programs. Defendants implemented these executive orders in a haphazard manner that resulted in the deletion (inadvertent or otherwise) of health-related websites and databases, including information related to pregnancy risks, public health datasets, information about opioid-use disorder, and many other valuable resources.”

 The lawsuit does not mention that it was President Donald Trump who issued the two executive orders in question. 

A White House spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit. 

While not mentioning Trump by name, the lawsuit names as defendants in addition to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Matthew Buzzelli, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

The 44-page lawsuit complaint includes an addendum with a chart showing the titles or descriptions of 49 “affected resource” website pages that it says were deleted because of the executive orders. The chart shows that just four of the sites were restored after initially being deleted.

 Of the 49 sites, 15 addressed LGBTQ-related health issues and six others addressed HIV issues, according to the chart.   

“The unannounced and unprecedented deletion of these federal webpages and datasets came as a shock to the medical and scientific communities, which had come to rely on them to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, assist physicians and other clinicians in daily care, and inform the public about a wide range of healthcare issues,” the lawsuit states.

 “Health professionals, nonprofit organizations, and state and local authorities used the websites and datasets daily in care for their patients, to provide resources to their communities, and promote public health,” it says. 

Jose Zuniga, president and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the organizations that signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the deleted information from the HHS websites “includes essential information about LGBTQ+ health, gender and reproductive rights, clinical trial data, Mpox and other vaccine guidance and HIV prevention resources.”

 Zuniga added, “IAPAC champions evidence-based, data-informed HIV responses and we reject ideologically driven efforts that undermine public health and erase marginalized communities.”

Lisa Amore, a spokesperson for Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ supportive health services provider, also expressed concern about the potential impact of the HHS website deletions.

 “As the region’s leader in HIV care and prevention, Whitman-Walker Health relies on scientific data to help us drive our resources and measure our successes,” Amore said in response to a request for comment from  the Washington Blade. 

“The District of Columbia has made great strides in the fight against HIV,” Amore said. “But the removal of public facing information from the HHS website makes our collective work much harder and will set HIV care and prevention backward,” she said. 

The lawsuit calls on the court to issue a declaratory judgement that the “deletion of public health webpages and resources is unlawful and invalid” and to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering government officials named as defendants in the lawsuit “to restore the public health webpages and resources that have been deleted and to maintain their web domains in accordance with their statutory duties.”

It also calls on the court to require defendant government officials to “file a status report with the Court within twenty-four hours of entry of a preliminary injunction, and at regular intervals, thereafter, confirming compliance with these orders.”

The health organizations that joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs include the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy Health, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society. 

The Fast-Track Cities Institute and International Association of Providers of AIDS Care are based in D.C.

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