News
Spicer hints at coming action on anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom’ order
Trump transition official says directive being redrafted and coming soon
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says he expects something on a “religious freedom” executive order.
Amid renewed concerns President Trump would sign a “religious order” undermining LGBT rights, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday he expects the administration would soon “have something.”
Spicer made the remarks in response to a question from the Daily Signal, an arm of the anti-LGBT Heritage Foundation, on whether the order is still coming and whether it would extend beyond the Johnson Amendment, a law Trump has pledged to repeal barring churches from making political endorsements.
“I think we’ve discussed executive orders in the past, and for the most part, we’re not going to get into discussing what may or may not come until we’re ready to announce it,” Spicer replied. “So, I’m sure as we move forward we’ll have something.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the “something” to which Spicer was referring was an actual executive order or a statement on a policy position for the way forward.
Although Trump initially passed up the opportunity to sign a proposed anti-LGBT “religious freedom” executive order at the time of the National Prayer Breakfast during the start of the administration, a recent report in The Huffington Post raised concerns a different order will come soon.
The report quotes Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow at the anti-LGBT Family Research Council who oversaw domestic policy for the Trump transition team, from an interview he had with Sirius XM’s Michelangelo Signorile in which Blackwell says the order is being redrafted and on the way.
“In the final analysis, what we want is an executive order that will meet the scrutiny of the judicial process,” Blackwell is quoted as saying. “If there is no executive order, that will disappoint [social conservatives]. But a good executive order will not. So we’re still in the process.”
Blackwell reportedly said the former director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, Ken Klukowski, had “actually structured” the initial draft order as a legal adviser to Trump’s transition team and is now one of the lawyers “in the process of redrafting it.” Klukowski is now a senior attorney at the Liberty First Institute and a contributor to Breitbart, a conservative website.
The “anchor concept” of the order, Blackwell is quoted as saying, is a directive allowing people in the course of business to refuse services to LGBT people out of religious objections.
“I think small business owners who hold a religious belief that traditional marriage is between one man and one woman should not have their religious liberty trampled upon,” he explained. “I would imagine that that will be, strongly and clearly, the anchor concept [of the order].”
No federal law prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity and an executive order like this would send a signal to individuals they should feel free to discriminate. A federal “religious freedom” executive order wouldn’t preempt state laws barring anti-LGBT discrimination.
Klukowski is also quoted in the Huffington Post article as saying he’s “not at liberty to speak about” the order specifically, but nonetheless expressed confidence Trump would act to protect religious freedom both through judicial appointments and possibly administrative actions.
“And I’m confident,” Klukowski reportedly said, “that the president is showing ― much to the shock of many establishment people who said, ‘There’s no way this’ll happen’ ― that he keeps his promises, even when they’re things that an establishment player would never do. And I’m confident that he’s going to keep his promise when it comes to protection of religious liberty as well.”
Last month, a draft executive order began circulating among federal advocacy groups that would allow persons and religious organizations — broadly defined to include for-profit companies — to discriminate on the basis of religious objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion and transgender identity.
At the time, the White House downplayed the draft executive order and said Trump wouldn’t sign it — at least for the time being. Media reports circulated that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kuskner convinced Trump not to sign the “religious freedom” order and the president wasn’t ever seriously considering doing so.
The White House issued a statement saying Trump would preserve the Obama-era order against workplace discrimination among federal contractors and is “respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights.” That pledge of support was undermined after the administration later rescinded guidance protecting transgender students from discrimination at schools.
Olivia Dalton, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior vice president for communications and marketing, said renewed plans for an anti-LGBT “religious freedom” order shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“Donald Trump and Mike Pence have repeatedly threatened the LGBTQ community, and by their own admission this ‘license to discriminate’ order has been circulating for weeks,” Dalton said. “No one should be surprised — their despicable attack on transgender kids last week showed just how low they’re willing to go.”
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
Turkey
Activists protest outside Turkish Embassy in D.C.
Dozens detained during anti-LGBTQ ‘My Family Is Safe’ campaign raids
A group of activists on Friday gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in D.C. to protest the country’s anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The protest — which the Council for Global Equality, Amnesty International USA, Outright International, and Health GAP organized — took place less than a week after Turkish authorities detained dozens of people during raids that targeted the country’s LGBTQ community and advocacy groups and HIV/AIDS service organizations.
Authorities in Istanbul on Sept. 15 detained more than 150 people who gathered outside a courthouse to protest the raids that are part of the government’s “My Family Is Safe” campaign. Journalists are among those who were taken into custody.
“This crackdown is not making families safer,” said Amnesty International USA Executive Director Nadia Daar, speaking in front of the Turkish Embassy.
Council for Global Equality Managing Director Keifer Buckingham stressed that “homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey.” Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and Outright International Senior Director of Law, Policy, and Research Neela Ghoshal also spoke.
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Activists in Madrid and in other cities around the world held similar protests on Friday.
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