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Former UN ambassador Bill Richardson dies at 75

One-time N.M. governor helped secure Brittney Griner’s release from Russian prison

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Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson (Screenshot from ABC News' This Week)

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Energy Secretary, congressman and two term New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson died in his sleep at age 75 on Friday at his Cape Cod summer home, a spokesperson for the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said in a statement released Saturday.

Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center, said “Gov. Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. There was no person that Gov. Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom. The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.”

Bergman added: “Right now our focus is on supporting his family, including his wife Barbara of over 50 years, who was with him when he passed. We will share further information as it becomes available.”

A lifelong progressive Democrat, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. had worked almost exclusively in recent years, through the Richardson Center he founded in 2011, to free people who were held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. 

This past month Richardson was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in rescuing Americans, most recently Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner. Over the last several decades Richardson traveled the world negotiating and securing the release of American prisoners and hostages in Bangladesh, North Korea, Sudan, Colombia and Iraq.

As one of the 351 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, the former ambassador told The Hill that he was honored by the nomination.

Richardson served as a congressman, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and Energy Secretary under President Bill Clinton, and two terms as governor of New Mexico.

New Mexico’s junior U.S. Senator, Ben Ray Luján, issued a statement Saturday after learning of Richardson’s passing:

“Governor Richardson was a close friend who held the same House seat that I was elected to. He knew how to get things done, and he worked closely with my late father in the Legislature.

His passing is incredibly heartbreaking for so many New Mexicans who knew and respected him. He leaves behind a legacy that will never be matched, and one that New Mexicans will always take pride in. My prayers are with Barbara, the Richardson family and all New Mexicans. His memory will always be a blessing.”

Traveling in Florida surveying Hurricane Idalia damage, President Joe Biden released a statement on the death of Richardson:

“Bill Richardson wore many weighty titles in his life — congressman, governor, ambassador, secretary. He seized every chance to serve and met every new challenge with joy, determined to do the most good for his country, his beloved New Mexico, and Americans around the world. Few have served our nation in as many capacities or with as much relentlessness, creativity, and good cheer. He will be deeply missed.
 
Bill’s legacy will endure in many places — in New Mexico, which Bill served for seven terms as congressman and two as governor; at the Department of Energy, where he helped strengthen America’s nuclear security; and at the United Nations, where he put his considerable negotiating skills to work advocating for American interests and values on the world stage.
 
But perhaps his most lasting legacy will be the work Bill did to free Americans held in some of the most dangerous places on Earth. American pilots captured by North Korea, American workers held by Saddam Hussein, Red Cross workers imprisoned by Sudanese rebels — these are just some of the dozens of people that Bill helped bring home. He’d meet with anyone, fly anywhere, do whatever it took. The multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations he received are a testament to his ceaseless pursuit of freedom for Americans. So is the profound gratitude that countless families feel today for the former governor who helped reunite them with their loved ones.
 
Bill and I crossed paths for the first time decades ago, when he was a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which I served on as senator. Over the years, I saw firsthand his passion for politics, love for America, and unflagging belief that, with respect and good faith, people can come together across any difference, no matter how vast. He was a patriot and true original, and will not be forgotten. Jill and I send our love to his family, including his wife of over 50 years, Barbara, and their daughter Heather.”

Although the ambassador was committed to LGBTQ rights in the U.S. and globally, his early interactions during his 2008 presidential campaign cost him support among LGBTQ voters that election cycle for a series of gaffes made during a campaign forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and Logo TV. 

Also appearing on the forum was another candidate, then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) In January 2008, Richardson dropped out of the race which ultimately saw the election of Obama as the 44th president of the U.S.

A non-scientific poll on Logo’s website after the forum had the Illinois senator with the most support at 35 percent, while Richardson garnered the least at 4 percent.

Heath Haussamen, a political journalist based in Las Cruces, N.M., and the editor and publisher of the now defunct political news website NMPolitics.net that covered the state of New Mexico, documented what turned into a fiasco for Richardson.

Richardson was asked about a prior comment he made on the Don Imus show in 2006 — repeating the use of the Spanish word for “faggot” after Imus used it — and he seemed to tentatively satisfy his critics.

“I meant no harm when I said that,” Richardson said. “It was one of those exchanges when I was caught off guard … But I think you should look at my actions, and not words.”

The forum moderator then commented that she had misspoken once on Imus’ show, and said each guest is entitled to one mistake on that show

It got worse, according to Haussmen’s reporting:

But after being forgiven for one mistake, Richardson immediately made more.

He was asked, if the state Legislature passed a bill making gay marriage legal, whether he would sign it. After discussion with Richardson and other candidates about the strong difference between domestic partnerships and gay marriage — one panel member characterized it as the difference between being separate but equal and being truly equal — Richardson said this:

“The New Mexico Legislature, I am pushing it very hard to expand domestic partnerships. It’s the same thing.”

Not only was this mistake No. 2, but it resurrected mistake No. 1 — the Imus comment. Which prompted the next question: Where do you stand on gay marriage?

“In my heart, I am doing what is achievable, and I’m not there yet. New Mexico isn’t there yet, the country isn’t there yet,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m closed on this issue. It means I’m doing what is achievable.”

Which prompted the next question, from rock star Melissa Etheridge: “Do you think homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?”

“It’s a choice. It’s, it’s …” he said.

Mistake No. 3. The audience was silent.

Not long after that debate forum, he reached out to the then-Advocate Political Editor Kerry Eleveld, requesting an in-person interview to clarify his position, saying that he has long known being gay is biological.

“I misunderstood the question, and I made a mistake in the way I answered it,” he said during that interview.

His campaign also attempted to mitigate the damage with the LGBTQ community issuing a statement that read in part:

“Let me be clear: I do not believe that sexual orientation or gender identity happen by choice,” Richardson said in the release. “But I’m not a scientist, and the point I was trying to make is that no matter how it happens, we are all equal and should be treated that way under the law. That is what I believe. That is what I have spent my career fighting for. I ask that people look at my record and my actions and they will see I have been a true supporter of the LGBT community.”

The campaign also stressed Richardson’s long support of the LGBTQ community. 

The University of California, Santa Barbara,’s “The American Presidency Project” has an archived statement made by Richardson during Pride month released on June 22, 2007, which read:

“I am very pleased to join my friends in the GLBT community and Americans across the country in celebrating Pride month. This month is a deserved commemoration of the contributions of GLBT Americans to the United States and a welcome symbol of how far we have come as a nation.

“We must also acknowledge that we are in the midst of a difficult struggle for basic human rights and we have a long way to go. This month is a worthy symbol of our progress towards full civil rights for every American, but we cannot ignore the challenges we still must conquer before we can truly move forward and create a better society.

“I have been a strong, dedicated, and proud supporter of the GLBT community throughout my time in public service. In Congress, I voted against the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. I continue to believe that it is wrong, shamefully wrong. This policy is not only detrimental to GLBT Americans, it is harmful to the security of every American, as badly-needed military personnel are discharged for no other reason than that they are gay or lesbian.

“As governor of New Mexico, I have led the charge for equality in my state. We expanded anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. We provided state health insurance for domestic partnerships. And I signed into law the state’s first hate crimes legislation for crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. I have fought hard for a Domestic Partner Rights Act in New Mexico and I will not stop fighting until the legislation is passed.

“As president, I will not rest until we have fulfilled America’s most basic promise — that every human being is created equal and that every American is due certain basic, inalienable rights. I know that until the human rights of every American are guaranteed, the rights of all Americans are demeaned.”

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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

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

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.

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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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U.S. Federal Courts

Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections

Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent

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Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Screen capture: YouTube)

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.

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