National
Obama admin. to SCOTUS: Let us keep enforcing ‘Don’t Ask’
Justice Dept. files brief defending stay against injunction
The Obama administration on Wednesday continued its defense of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in court by filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for continued enforcement of the military’s gay ban while an appellate court considers its constitutionality.
In the document, Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Kumar Katyal argues in favor of a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ stay against an injunction that would have prohibited enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Katyal argues that the stay is necessary because the injunction would cause “the government the kind of irreparable injury that routinely forms the basis for a stay pending appeal.”
“This case does not present the sort of exceptional circumstances that would warrant interference with an interim order of the court of appeals,” Katyal writes. “That court’s stay simply preserves the status quo pending its consideration of the merits of this facial challenge to a federal statute governing military affairs that has been in force for 17 years.”
The injunction was issued last month by U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips after she ruled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” violated gay service members freedom of speech and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Among other reasons for maintaining the stay, Katyal argues that Log Cabin fails to show reasonable probability that the Supreme Court would take up the case if the Ninth Circuit reverses Phillips’ decision. Additionally, Katyal argues that the injunction would “short-circuit the Executive Branch’s review process” and the work of Pentagon in developing a plan to implement repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Without sufficient time for such training and guidance, an immediate court-ordered repeal of the statute would risk disruption to military commanders and service members as they carry out their missions, especially in zones of active combat,” Katyal writes.
Last week, lawyers representing Log Cabin Republicans, which filed the litigation against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2004, asked the Supreme Court to lift the Ninth Circuit’s stay on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” injunction. The Ninth Circuit had granted the stay after the Justice Department asked for the order and appealed a district court’s decision against the law to the appellate court.
The decision on whether to vacate the stay is now before U.S. Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who’s the circuit justice for the Ninth Circuit. Whether the entire Supreme Court will be involved in the decision on vacating the order is up to Kennedy. The justice may decide for himself of refer the application to his colleagues on the bench.
A source familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, estimated that the Supreme Court would make a decision on whether or not to vacate the stay in a week.
Doug NeJaine, who’s gay and a law professor at Loyola Law School, predicted that the Supreme Court would side in favor of the U.S. government and allow the stay to continue.
“Preserving the status quo — both in affirming the Ninth Circuit and maintaining the stay pending litigation on the merits — is the least controversial thing to do,” NeJaime said. “Plus, I doubt that the Court wants to get involved in the merits of the policy at this point, which is what analyzing the stay question (and particularly the likelihood of success on the merits prong) would require.”
Fred Sainz, the Human Rights Campaign”s vice president of communications, said Log Cabin “did the right thing” by asking the Supreme Court to lift the stay on the injunction against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and said the organization and its attorneys “have a responsibility to use every tool in their legal arsenal.”
“At the very least, it continues to bring attention to this issue and puts the Justice Department under enormous pressure if they choose to continue defending a law that has [now] been ruled unconstitutional,” Sainz said.
Download a copy of the Justice Department’s brief to the Supreme Court here.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition
On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform
Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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