National
Despite ‘relentless attacks,’ optimism for future of LGBTQ movement
National LGBTQ Task Force leaders address Creating Change Conference

Despite being hit with an unprecedented 300 or more anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in U.S. state legislatures over the past two years, the nation’s LGBTQ community at the same time has seen some important advances and there is reason for optimism, according to a March 19 LGBTQ State of the Movement address delivered by two key movement leaders.
Kierra Johnson and Mayra Hidalgo Salazar, executive director and deputy executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, offered a detailed assessment of where things stand today for LGBTQ people in the United States during the organization’s 22nd Annual Creating Change Conference, which was held virtually March 19-20.
Since it began in 1987, Task Force officials have said the Creating Change Conference has served as the LGBTQ movement’s preeminent organizing, skills-building, and networking event.
Johnson and Salazar said the political attacks on LGBTQ rights and other progressive causes coming in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced LGBTQ leaders and activists to adopt new strategies for responding to the attacks.
“We are doing this in the face of storms that have kept coming,” Salazar said. “In just the last year, there have been relentless attacks to gut voting rights, the right to protest, abortion access, and trans youth health and rights,” she stated in the address delivered jointly by the two women.
“There have been 100 anti-trans bills and over 300 anti-LGBTQ bills considered in state legislatures across the nation,” she continued, adding that a record number of deportations of immigrants, a “barrage” of racial injustice in the U.S. and abroad, and new and ongoing wars and conflicts, “have left many of us feeling afraid, disconnected, and powerless.”
Johnson continued those thoughts by saying, “We know that you are tired. Many of you are afraid and rightfully so…But I know that I’m talking to a group of people who know that these events, these feelings, they’re no reason to stop the work – anything but,” Johnson said. “These are the reasons we do the work. This is why what we do is so important, why you are showing up today, and tomorrow and it is the difference between the light at the end of the tunnel going out entirely and growing brighter and nearer for us and for generations to come.”
Salazar cited what she called optimistic data showing that more people are coming out as LGBTQ than ever before at an earlier age, with young people identifying in greater numbers as bisexual and nonbinary.
“Now some of you may be wondering, is there something in the water?” she continued. “Of course, the answer is no! But more people coming out and the fluidity in how they identify has everything to do with the work you and we have done and do every single day to build a world where people can embrace themselves – and be embraced – in every aspect of their lives.”
As a further sign of optimism, Johnson noted the political climate for LGBTQ people coming from the White House has changed for the better since January 2021.
“After four years of relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the Biden-Harris administration has brought more LGBTQ+ visibility and begun undoing the damage of Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies – from protecting the civil rights of every LGBTQ+ person, to ensuring that LGBTQ+ Americans are leaders at every level of the federal government,” Johnson said.
“Together with you, we have successfully backed more queer, women, people of color candidates to join the White House than ever before,” Johnson told conference participants.
Among the LGBTQ White House appointees, she and Salazar said, are Gina Ortiz Jones, a lesbian and Iraq war veteran serving as the U.S. Undersecretary of the Air Force; Pete Buttigieg, who is serving as the first openly gay Cabinet Secretary confirmed by the U.S. Senate; Admiral Dr. Rachel Levine, who is serving as director of the U.S. Public Health Service at the Department of Health and Human Services and who became the first openly transgender person ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate; Reggie Greer, a Black gay man serving as White House Director of Priority Placement and Senior Adviser on LGBTQ+ Engagement; Ambassador Chantale Yokmin Wong, the U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank who became the first out lesbian and first LGBTQ person of color with the rank of ambassador in U.S. history; and Mehgan Maury, a former National LGBTQ Task Force official now serving as Senior Adviser to the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau and the first nonbinary member of the Biden administration.
“Contrary to what many would have us believe, we have also made progress in the states,” Johnson stated in her remarks. She and Salazar pointed to bills providing various types of LGBTQ supportive services or protections that have passed in New Jersey, Oregon, Colorado, Washington State, and New Mexico in the past two years.
“And finally, to those of you – advocates, organizers, change makers – in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Michigan – thank you for your tireless work and non-stop efforts to stop the devastating bills ravaging their way through your state legislatures and making their way to the desks of your governors,” Johnson said.
“You are showing the country and the world that trans kids matter, that Black Lives Matter, that saying Trans and Bi and Lesbian and Gay matters,” added Johnson. “While we’ve had some setbacks in these sessions, the work you’ve done means those losses are temporary. You are building long-term sustainable power,” Johnson said.
“Together we will use all the tools in our toolbox – from the streets to the courts to the pews and pulpits, to the media to the ballot box – to overturn and overcome these wretched attacks and take back our democracy from extremists who will do anything to sustain the status quo or worse, roll back the gains we’ve won,” according to Johnson.
Following is the text of the full remarks delivered by Kierra Johnson and Mayra Hidalgo Salazar in their LGBTQ State of the Movement Address on March 19 before the Creating Change Conference as provided by the National LGBTQ Task Force:
Johnson: Welcome to the State of the Movement 2022. Convening virtually was not what we envisioned for Creating Change this year. Like you, last spring we were hopeful that we would soon turn a corner and leave our COVID-19 lives behind. Then Delta and Omicron dished a dose of reality that was more devastating than we thought possible. We saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and then swiftly the tunnel got longer, until the light was all but impossible to see.
Johnson: We are now beginning our third year under the cloud of a global pandemic. While we’ve necessarily become pros at adapting to these changing conditions: moving the work forward, getting our kids to school, taking care of elders, navigating other health crises and wearing masks everywhere we go, COVID continues to have a deep impact on our health and well-being and on our community’s ability to fight back. Like you, we also hold the tension of trying to stay focused on how we show up in our work to build a different world, while acknowledging the challenges of shouldering sickness, the passing of friends and family, and the frustration of dreams deferred.
Salazar: And, because we are brilliant, creative and resourceful, we also found new and beautiful ways of building and being in community – like virtual events with magical moments we only dreamed possible, became reality.
Salazar: We are doing this in the face of storms that have kept coming. In just the last year, there have been relentless attacks to gut voting rights, the right to protest, abortion access, and trans youth health and rights. There have been 100 anti-trans bills and over 300 anti LGBTQ bills considered in state legislatures across the nation. And if that wasn’t enough to overwhelm us, the record deportations of immigrants under the Biden administration, the barrage of racial injustice here at home and abroad, and new and ongoing wars and conflicts, have left many of us feeling afraid, disconnected, and powerless. At any given moment, we are experiencing changes moving at an unbearable pace.
Johnson: We know that you are tired. Many of you are afraid and rightfully so. Be tired. Be angry. Be frustrated, confused, sad, be ALL of those things. But I know that I’m talking to a group of people who know that these events, these feelings; they’re not a reason to stop the work — anything but. These are the reasons we do the work. This is why what we do is so important, why you are showing up today, and tomorrow and it is the difference between the light at the end of the tunnel going out entirely, and growing brighter and nearer for us and for generations to come.” Congresswoman Ocasio Cortez recently reminded us that a resigned cynical working class that has given up is exactly what our opponents want. But she also reminds us that things are changing and that it is up to us to share good news and enjoy the good news and remind each other that we are having success and we are winning.
Salazar: Data is showing us that more people are coming out as LGBTQ than ever before and they are coming out earlier, with young people identifying in higher numbers as bisexual and nonbinary. Now some of you may be wondering, is there something in the water?! Of course, the answer is no! But more people coming out and the fluidity in how they identify has everything to do with the work you and we have done and do every single day to build a world where people can embrace themselves—and be embraced—in every facet of their lives.
Johnson: After four years of relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the Biden-Harris administration has brought more LGBTQ+ visibility and begun undoing the damage of Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies— from protecting the civil rights of every LGBTQ+ person, to ensuring that LGBTQ+ Americans are leaders at every level of the federal government Together with you, we have successfully backed more queer, women, people of color candidates to join the White House than ever before including:
Salazar: Gina Ortiz Jones, a gay woman and Iraq veteran serves as the 27th U.S. Under Secretary of the Air Force – she identifies as an Ilocano, a member of a Filipino ethnolinguistic group. KJ: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who is the first openly gay Cabinet Secretary confirmed by the U.S. Senate MHS: Admiral Dr. Rachel Levine, Head of U.S public health efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services, who is the first openly transgender person ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Johnson: Reggie Greer, a Black gay man now serves as White House Director of Priority Placement and Senior Advisor on LGBTQ+ Engagement. MHS: Ambassador Chantale Yokmin Wong U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank, the first out lesbian and first LGBTQ person of color with the rank of ambassador in U.S. history.
Johnson: AND our own Mehgan Maury, who led our Queer the Census campaign and now serves as Senior Advisor to Director Robert Santos at the Census Bureau, the first non-binary member of the administration’s team.
Salazar: And we need more action, support, and resources from the White House to address the escalating attacks on our humanity and our rights. We need progress that goes beyond the pre[1]Trump status quo. The rights of LGBTQ+ people must be solidified to capture the full breadth of our experiences and face the onslaught of growing racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia. MHS: And there is a bill in congress right now — The Equality Act – that if passed would move us forward in holding elected officials accountable at the federal level and in every state, expanding and protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ people, people of color and women.
Johnson: With each year more cross-movement, cross issue, cross community partnerships are created, and they are deepening. Whether creating new messages and frames to engage the community and address the state attacks on LGBTQ people, to creating interfaith strategies to assert a progressive religious and spiritual perspective to beat back discriminatory religious exemptions, to inspiring and supporting more BIPOC, Young People and Queer people to vote Commented [MS1]: i don’t want to uplift this as a win, especially while we are at/on the brink of another war Commented [MS2]: moving and advocate directly with legislators, we are fortifying our foundation for the hard work ahead!
Johnson: Contrary to what many would have us believe, we have also made progress in the states! New Jersey enacted a law that adds gender nonbinary to medical data collection. Oregon passed a law to add LGBTQ people to priority populations definition for workforce development programs and increases funding. Colorado passed a bill to support older people from diverse, racial, cultural, socioeconomic, gender and ability groups in community planning; health services and infrastructure.
Salazar: Washington State passed two bills – one that preserves a person’s ability to access abortion care, making the language trans-inclusive. And another that makes incarcerated folx medical records confidential, including for trans-affirming care and gender identity. New Mexico passed a bill to stop LGBTQ people from being blamed for people assaulting or murdering them, barring use of the so-called Panic defense.
Johnson: And finally, to those of you—advocates, organizers, change makers—in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Michigan – thank you for your tireless work and non-stop efforts to stop the devastating bills ravaging their way through your state legislatures and making their way to the desks of your Governors. You are showing the country and the world that trans kids matter, that Black lives matter, that saying Trans and Bi and Lesbian and GAY matters. While we’ve had some setbacks in these sessions, the work you’ve done means those losses are temporary. You are building long term sustainable power. Together we will use all the tools in our toolbox— from the streets to the courts to the pews & pulpits, to the media to the ballot box—to overturn and overcome these wretched attacks and take back our democracy from extremists who will do anything to sustain the status quo or worse roll back the gains we’ve won.
Salazar: We are far from powerless. From weighing in on presidential appointments to engaging with civil rights leaders on strategies to ensure that our communities have access to the right to vote. We have been connecting with national and state partners, advising hill staff and Members of Congress and engaging LGBTQ people in a range of issues including the Equality Act and the Texas abortion ban. We have won protections in the workplace and nondiscrimination policies continue to pass in cities and states across the country. Actors, Athletes and musicians are exclaiming their pride and queering the media at every turn igniting a new force of queer and allied activism. Carl Nassib, Kal Penn, Tommy Dorfman, Hikaru Utada, Kehlani and Billy Porter are just a few of the celebrities that have come out in the last year as trans, non-binary, queer, HIV positive, and Pansexual. They are showing up and out as queer pop icons, public figures for a new generation looking for themselves boldly reflected in media, culture and politics. We must remember how we got here. We must celebrate our successes as forward momentum. We have much to be proud of…But we are FAR from done.
Salazar: In January of this year, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) signed into law the first anti-trans bill of 2022. In doing so, she banned transgender girls from playing school sports. From there it has
been almost impossible to keep up with the barrage of attacks. Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Hampshire and South Dakota and just a few of the states that introduced measures that target trans and nonbinary youth, their families and their communities.
Johnson: As if that wasn’t enough, in addition to the unabated and unrelenting state attacks on LGBTQ+ legislation, our communities have also been hit with attacks on reproductive rights, voting rights, and the erasure of the history and impact of BIPOC people in this country. In states across the country, the legislature has waged a triple threat of bad bills targeting our access to information, bodily autonomy, and ability to participate in our democracy. These are the foundation of personal, community and political power!
Salazar: The far-right has bemoaned for years that progressives have been trying to “censor” them, it is indeed the far-right taking steps to censor content of all kinds – from critical race theory to LGBTQ inclusive curricula, effectively erasing the diversity of people in this country and any accurate or inclusive understanding of our shared history. Book bans, which seem like an outdated tactic of fascist dictators, are back in style. The simple act of have a rainbow flag or Black Lives Matter sticker on your classroom door, meant to communicate a safe space, is now off the table. Imagine how our young people must feel as they are stripped of the symbols and information that made them feel safe and affirmed.
Johnson: Access to our most basic right to engage in our democracy is also at stake. The right to vote, our right to protest is being suppressed, curtained, blocked and gerrymandered at every turn.
Salazar: Finally, our self-determination and personal agency is also being threatened. Given the sharp rise in anti-LGBTQ laws passed over the last 8 years and what we are seeing now, it is no surprise we’re now experiencing what the American Medical Association has declared “an epidemic of violence against the transgender community,” most notably the skyrocketing rate of murders against trans women of color. The ability to make decision about who you are, how you walk through the world in your truth and have control over your own body are at the core of the anti-trans bills mentioned above and all the attempts to restrict abortion rights and access to reproductive related healthcare.
Johnson: If this feels familiar there is a reason – 40 years ago it was gay & lesbian teachers that were being targeted — today it’s trans kids and their parents.
Salazar: 40 years ago, it was Anita Bryant who was pulling out worn out tropes about “grooming” – and today it is Governors like DeSantis and Abbott recycling these tropes to spread misinformation about our community.
Johnson: 20 years ago, it was gay, lesbian and bisexual people being accused of trying to destroy the sanctity of (Christian) marriage and today it is loving families and allies of LGBTQ youth being accused of taking away “parental rights” when working for the safety and futures of all youth.
Johnson: Any historian or longtime Movement activist will tell you this cycle Is just that – a constant, sometimes subtle, sometimes direct, concerted effort to use queer people, reproductive freedom and democracy as the bait to push the buttons of conscious and unconscious homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, racism, Christian hegemony and classism in our country.
Johnson: This is our time, our opportunity to commit to building deeply and broadly across movements. To collaborate across issues and communities. We cannot win if we continue to organize in silos and ignore the WHOLE chess board. There is an opportunity to build intersectional partnerships, engage a larger base, and create solutions that have greater impact on more people. We must fight back. Now, for the remainder of this important election year, in every state facing anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice and anti-voting rights legislation.
Johnson: There is a lot at stake in this time but where there are challenges there are opportunities for us to learn, grow and succeed! Our political success will only ever be temporary if we’re not invested in building the power of the people. We win because more and more people are in coalition with us. But we know from the movements that came before ours that to hold onto those successes, our institutions and those in power must be willing to take action with us and we must be vigilant in holding them accountable.
Salazar: Today we are launching Queer the Vote and commit to building a robust and connected base of voters working across issues across communities to rebuild and strengthen our democracy. It is critical that queer people and our allies mobilize to take action, build power and create change whether that’s contacting your elected officials, providing testimony, or donating money and resources. And of course, above all else, if you are eligible, make sure you are registered to vote and turn out at the polls. Claim your power, use your voice, support your community and Queer the Vote!
The kind of change we imagine can take generations, and the Task Force is in this for the long haul – we’ve been at it for almost 50 years, and we won’t stop until we are all free. The pathway to liberation is long and if we are going to make it we must remember what we are working towards. We are organizing for our civil rights. We are demanding that our full humanity is honored and affirmed. And we are fighting for our democracy.
Johnson: We have already imagined the world we want…the world we deserve. Now we must have courage to act with and for our community to bring it into existence. The theme of CC22 is Remixed. A remix: a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, and/or changing pieces of the item. Our 2022 Creating Change theme Remixed refers not only to having pivoted from an in-person event to a digital one. Remixed is also a vision for how we can evolve as a movement. We have an opportunity to experiment and to play. To be responsive to what is new while benefiting from the wisdom, expertise, and talent of the past. I can’t wait to get back into the studio with you! We look forward to creating new sounds, covering some old tunes and remixing a new movement for the future…by us and for us. Forever together, we are powerful!
Johnson: Be You, Be Well and enjoy the rest of your Creating Change ‘22 remixed experience!
Salazar: Sea tú. Y que lo pasen delicioso. [Be you. And have a delicious time.]
New York
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
One of the victims, John Umberger, was D.C. political consultant

A New York judge on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of killing a D.C. political consultant and another man who they targeted at gay bars in Manhattan.
NBC New York notes a jury in February convicted Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio of murder, robbery, and conspiracy in relation to druggings and robberies that targeted gay bars in Manhattan from March 2021 to June 2022.
John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, died. Prosecutors said Hamilton, Barroso, and DeMaio targeted three other men at gay bars.
The jury convicted Hamilton and DeMaio of murdering Umberger. State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison.
Barroso, who was convicted of killing Ramirez, received a 20 years to life sentence.
National
Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information
Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources

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.
U.S. Federal Courts
Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections
Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.
While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”
“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.
The case, which was brought by the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, presents the greatest setback for LGBTQ inclusive workplace protections since President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on the first day of his second term directing U.S. federal agencies to recognize only two genders as determined by birth sex.
Last month, top Democrats from both chambers of Congress reintroduced the Equality Act, which would codify LGBTQ-inclusive protections against discrimination into federal law, covering employment as well as areas like housing and jury service.