National
National news in brief
Palin Tweets, New Mexico considers marriage recognition and more

Palin’s re-Tweet sparks speculation about LGBT views
WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has inspired speculation about her stand on gay issues and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” since she re-Tweeted a post from a gay talk radio host criticizing opponents of the repeal of the anti-gay policy, several media outlets reported this week.
At issue is a Tweet posted early Tuesday by Tammy Bruce, a conservative talk radio host that said, “But this hypocrisy is just truly too much. Enuf already — the more someone complains about the homos the more we should look under their bed.” Palin, who uses Twitter often to send out announcements and commentary to her 350,000 followers, posted Bruce’s comment on her own account but didn’t elaborate. She hadn’t commented on it publicly as of Blade press time Wednesday.
Bruce’s comment referred to a Navy captain who was relieved of his command for making a series of lewd videos that were shown to those serving under him on the USS Enterprise.
Palin’s opinions of gay issues have been unclear at times. She told Fox News last year that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” wasn’t a pressing issue and that the military had more pressing matters to deal with. But she didn’t say she disapproved of repeal either.
In other gay matters, Palin opted not to veto partner benefits legislation when she was governor of Alaska, but has repeatedly said that marriage should be reserved for opposite-sex couples.
N.C. commissioner calls gays ‘sexual predators’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina county commissioner last week said that gays are “sexual predators,” according to reports from NPR, MSNBC and other media outlets.
The comment came from an e-mail Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James sent to board chair Jennifer Roberts. She wanted to send a letter on board stationary congratulating Sen. Richard Burr on his vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” James replied saying that not every homosexual is a predator but as a group, they are.
His comments, which received national attention, inspired a resolution from the commission that calls for tolerance, inclusion and civility. James voted for it but did not apologize for his earlier e-mail. He said he didn’t think the resolution would have much impact but said it was a nice gesture he could support because he believes in kindness.
Some of his fellow board members said his remarks are “beyond reproach” and “out of line.”
Minnesota town passes pro-gay ordinance
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — The St. Louis Park City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that will allow domestic partners — opposite- and same-sex — to register their partnerships with the city.
The ordinance won’t supersede any state or federal laws nor will it grant couples any new legal rights. The state of Minnesota doesn’t recognize gay marriage, but proponents tout it as a step in the right direction.
The ordinance will go in effect in February if it passes a formal second reading in two weeks, which is expected to easily pass.
Registration will ensure domestic partners the same family rates and benefits at city events and at area businesses. Another Minnesota town, Rochester, passed a similar ordinance.
N.M. official says gay marriages should be recognized
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico’s attorney general this week issued an opinion stating that same-sex marriages from other states would be legal in his state. He came to that conclusion after an in-depth legal analysis, the New Mexico Independent reported.
“While we cannot predict how a New Mexico court would rule on this issue, after review of the law in this area, it is our opinion that a same-sex marriage that is valid under the laws of the country or state where it was consummated would likewise be found valid in New Mexico,” Attorney General Gary King wrote.
While 40 states explicitly bar same-sex marriage, King says that New Mexico’s law does “not explicitly address the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions,” according to the release announcing the opinion.
Senate confirms lesbian for Employment Commission
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has confirmed a lesbian for a full term as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Chai Feldblum had been blocked previously by Republican senators but President Obama used a recess appointment to make her temporarily a commissioner last March. That temporary appointment would have expired at the end of 2011 but Feldblum will now serve through July 2013.
Prior to her recess appointment, Feldblum served as a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. Throughout her career, she has worked to enact protections for some of the most stigmatized populations in America. As legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1980s, she worked to secure legal protections for people with AIDS at a time when the disease was vilified and poorly understood. Feldblum also played a leading role in the drafting and negotiation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The Commission was established as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its mission is to promote equality of opportunity in the workplace and enforce federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
Anti-gay group may end CPAC sponsorship
COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado-based Focus on the Family is considering ending its sponsorship of a national conservative political action rally because of the involvement of a gay conservative group, the Associated Press and several media outlets reported.
The lobbying arm of Focus on Family, CitizenLink, is a co-sponsor of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington next month.
CitizenLink senior vice president Tom Minnery told the Gazette that the group is participating partly to help offset the influence of the gay group, GOProud. But he says this may be the last year it’s a sponsor, the AP reported.
Sarah Palin and Mike Hucakbee are among those scheduled to speak at the conference.
Report focuses on suicide, risk among LGBT people
MIAMI — An expert panel of 26 leading researchers, clinicians, educators and policy experts have released a comprehensive report on the prevalence and underlying causes of suicidal behavior in LGBT adolescents and adults. The report was published online this week.
Titled “Suicide and Suicide Risk in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Populations: Review and Recommendations,” the report makes sweeping recommendations for closing knowledge gaps in what is known and not known about LGBT suicide behaviors and calls for making LGBT suicide prevention a national priority. This is especially timely in light of multiple suicide deaths among LGBT youth in recent months.
Despite four decades of research pointing to elevated rates of suicide attempts among LGBT people, national suicide prevention initiatives, including the 2001 U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, have given scant attention to suicide risk in sexual minority persons.
“With this report and recommendations, we hope to move LGBT suicide prevention squarely onto the national agenda and provide a framework for actions aimed at reducing suicidal behavior in these populations,” said Ann Haas, lead author and director of prevention projects for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The report found strong evidence of significantly higher suicide rates for gays of all ages compared to their straight counterparts and that increased depression and substance abuse problems among sexual minorities do not account for the higher rates but stigma and discrimination play “key roles.”
Most NOM money came from a few donors
WASHINGTON — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has released a partial version of its 2009 tax return, which shows that most of the more than $7 million it received that year came from a small number of large donors, NOM Exposed (which Human Rights Campaign sponsors) reported this week.
According to the report, three wealthy donors contributed 68 percent of the organization’s donations. The top five donors accounted for 75 percent of contributions. The donors were not identified and could be individuals or corporations.
The sites pointed out that NOM doesn’t represent a grassroots constituency but a small group of wealthy anti-gay supporters. NOM had kept its returns private until HRC reps visited their D.C. office twice in person.
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Federal Courts
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.
The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”
Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.
“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.
Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.
Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”
Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.
“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”
“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.