National
Obama talks DOMA, bullying at Latino roundtable
POTUS says courts best path to bring DOMA to an end
Barack Obama (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
President Obama said the courts represent the best path for bringing the Defense of Marriage Act to end in response to a question on what he’s doing to help bi-national same-sex couples stay together in the United States.
Gabriel Lerner, senior news editor for AOL Latino and Huff-Post Latino Voices, brought the question up on Thursday while moderating a roundtable called “Open for Questions with President Obama” on issues important to the Latino community:
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Lerner: Mr. President, on the Defense of Marriage Act, also called DOMA, this comes from Kevin in North Carolina. He says: I’m a gay American who fell in love with a foreigner. As you know, due to DOMA, I’m not permitted to sponsor my foreign-born partner for residency. And as a result, we are stuck between a rock and an impossible situation. How do you intend to fix this? Waiting for DOMA to be repealed or struck down in the courts will potentially take years. What do binational couples do in the meantime?
Obama: Well, we made a decision that was a very significant decision, based on my assessment of the Constitution, that this administration would not defend DOMA in the federal courts. It’s not going to be years before this issue is settled. This is going to be settled fairly soon, because right now we have cases pending in the federal courts.
Administratively, we can’t ignore the law. DOMA is still on the books. What we have said is even as we enforce it, we don’t support it, we think it’s unconstitutional. The position that my administration has taken I think will have a significant influence on the court as it examines the constitutionality of this law. And once that law is struck down — and I don’t know what the ruling will be — then addressing these binational issues could flow from that decision, potentially.
I can’t comment on where the case is going to go. I can only say what I believe, and that is that DOMA doesn’t make sense; it’s unfair; I don’t think that it meets the demands of our Constitution. And in the meantime, if — I’ve already said that I’m also supportive of Congress repealing DOMA on it’s own and not waiting for the courts. The likelihood of us being able to get the votes in the House of Representatives for DOMA repeal are very low at this point so, truthfully, the recourse to the courts is probably going to be the best approach.
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LGBT advocates working on immigration issues said in response to Obama’s comments that the president could do more to assist gay Americans in same-sex relationships with foreigners.
Lavi Soloway, founder of Stop the Deportations, said he doesn’t believe Obama’s answer was sufficient and the president should issue a moratorium to ensure foreign nationals in same-sex relationship aren’t deported because of DOMA:
“In his response, the President, a former constitutional law professor and son of a binational couple, said three times that DOMA is unconstitutional and affirmed his commitment to not to defend DOMA in court,” Soloway said. “Despite this, he believes that he must enforce this law against gay and lesbian Americans who are married to foreign nationals, until DOMA is repealed by Congress or struck down by the courts. The administration can and must do more to help binational couples now.”
Soloway continued, “First the administration must ensure that all binational couples are safe by issuing a moratorium on “DOMA deportations” and by issuing explicit written guidelines directing the exercise of prosecutorial discretion for same-sex binational couples.”
“Second, the administration must hold in abeyance decisions on all marriage-based green card applications filed by same-sex couples and stop denying those cases,” Soloway said. “This administration believes that it cannot approve such cases because of DOMA, but it does not follow that those cases must be denied. At the very least, we should wait until the fate of DOMA has been determined by Congress or the Supreme Court before decisions are rendered on any pending green card cases filed by lesbian and gay binational couples.”
Steve Ralls, spokesperson for Immigration Equality, also called on the administration can place the green card applications on hold for gay Americans seeking to sponsor their foreign partners for residency while still following the law:
“We obviously agree with the president that DOMA is unconstitutional,” Ralls said. “But we also know there are many things the president can do even before DOMA is repealed to help bi-national couples. The most significant among those is holding green card application filed by those couples until the courts have resolved DOMA’s fate. That gives legal protection to couples, it does not violate DOMA and it’s clearly within the president’s authority to do so. That should be the action that he takes until the courts intervene to end DOMA completely.”
Also during the roundtable, Obama discussed what his administration has done to combat the bullying of students, although the question was based on the bullying of students for being Latino as opposed to being LGBT.
Jose Siade, Yahoo’s editor in chief for U.S. Hispanic and Latin America, brought the question to the President during the roundtable:
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Siade: This question comes from Florida: Since bullying is increasing in an alarming way in the U.S., what can be done to avoid further discrimination or bullying within various racial groups, particularly for Hispanic kids in school?
Obama: I think it’s a really important question. We actually had the first-ever conference on bullying here in the White House — because for young people it’s hard enough growing up without also then being subject to constant harassment. And the kind of bullying that we’re seeing now, including using the Internet and new media, can be very oppressive on young people.
So what we’ve tried to do is to provide information and tools to parents, to schools, to communities to push back and fight against these kinds of trends. And a lot of the best work has actually been done by young people themselves who start anti-bullying campaigns in their schools, showing how you have to respect everyone, regardless of race, regardless of religion, regardless of sexual orientation. And when you get a school environment in which that’s not accepted by young people themselves, where they say we’re not going to tolerate that kind of bullying, that usually ends up making the biggest difference, because kids react to their peer group more than sometimes they do adults.
And what we need to do is make sure that we’re providing tools to schools and to young people to help combat against bullying, and it’s something that we’ll continue to work on with local communities and local school districts as well.
Lerner: So you’re going to have a conference on bullying in the White House?
Obama: We already did. We had it — it was probably four or five months ago. And we brought in non-profit groups, religious leadership, schools, students themselves. And they have now organized conferences regionally, around the country, so that we can prevent this kind of bullying from taking place.
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Florida
Intersex teacher alleges Fla. school fired him over perceived trans identity
Shepard Scalf filed a complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
An intersex teacher in Florida who was fired is alleging in a new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing that he was terminated based on assumptions that he was transgender.
Shepard Scalf in the filing says he was assigned female at birth but identifies as male.
According to Monday’s filing with the EEOC, submitted on Scalf’s behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and the law firm of Chanfrau & Chanfrau P.L., the school district fired Scalf on the basis of his sex and the presumption that he is trans.
Scalf was hired for the 2025-2026 school year at Patriot Oaks Academy in the St. Johns County School District to teach language arts to 6th- and 7th-graders, after previously working in another Florida school district.
During the hiring process, Scalf submitted paperwork that disclosed he had been assigned female at birth. He was born with an intersex variation with XY chromosomes, and he lives as and presents as a man.
On Aug. 28, 2025, Patriot Oaks Academy Principal Drew Chiodo scheduled an emergency meeting with Scalf. The principal was directed to read a letter from the school district superintendent informing Scalf that he must either submit his resignation or be fired.
According to the ACLU, Scalf was provided with no legitimate reason for his termination and had not received any prior warnings or disciplinary actions. At the time of his termination, Chiodo told Scalf his work was “exemplary” and that Scalf had “met every expectation.”
“Receiving this ultimatum was confusing and overwhelming. Everything had been going so well — I couldn’t understand why this was happening,” Scalf said. “The start of a school year is always brimming with promise and excitement, and I was looking forward to continuing my teaching career at Patriot Oaks until I was cornered into resigning. It became clear to me that being fired had nothing to do with my qualifications or teaching — it was about who I am.”
According to the filing, Scalf received communications that the termination followed complaints from a parent about his gender identity. However, the filing also claims that his gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and intersex status were never mentioned in his classroom.
In a 2020 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County found employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The ACLU is claiming that under that ruling, Scalf’s rights under Title VII were violated.
“Six years ago, the Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that employers cannot fire someone for being gay or transgender because doing so is discrimination because of sex,” said Shana Knizhnik, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, in a press release from the ACLU. “The same reasoning protects intersex people, who have long faced discrimination because their bodies and lives do not conform to narrow expectations about what a man or a woman is supposed to be. Mr. Scalf was an exemplary teacher, but despite his performance and qualifications, he was forced out of his job because he did not fit those expectations. As politicians and institutions increasingly seek to police sex and gender, intersex people are too often caught in the crossfire alongside transgender people — but federal civil rights law protects everyone from this kind of discrimination.”
Samantha Past, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida, stated in a press release that Florida’s public school system is increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ people.
“At a time when Florida’s public schools are increasingly targeted by disruptive state policies and in the midst of a teacher shortage crisis, St. Johns County School District chose to unlawfully oust a qualified and respected educator. Everyone deserves the opportunity to work and contribute to their community without fear of being targeted because of who they are. Mr. Scalf is no exception,” Past stated.
America 250
Washington Blade publishes ‘Queering America 250’
New magazine chronicles LGBTQ history and contributions to U.S. culture
The Washington Blade this week published a new glossy magazine, titled “Queering America 250,” a look back at the many contributions that LGBTQ people have made to the founding of the country through the present day.
From Colonial times to modern pop culture, the magazine aims to remind readers of some of the many ways queer people have influenced American life.
“As the country commemorates 250 years, we wanted to do our part to ensure LGBTQ contributions to America were not ignored or forgotten,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff. “As this administration seeks to erase queer identities, it’s more important than ever that we speak up and remind the world that we have always been here and always will be.”
The magazine is divided into chapters addressing queer life in Colonial times, the early 20th century, the late 20th century, and the 21st century. There’s a story about D.C.’s role in LGBTQ visibility; a top 40 moments in queer pop culture piece; and a series of opinion pieces and photo pages from the Blade’s historic archive.
The magazine is free and available across the D.C. region during Pride. It’s also available online.
You can find the magazine here: Annie’s, As You Are, Bunker, Crush, DIK Bar, District Eagle, Green Lantern, Her Diner, Jane Jane, JR.’s, Icon, Kiki, Larry’s Lounge, Little Gay Pub, Nellie’s, Number Nine, Pitchers, Red Bear Brewing, Shakers, Sinners and Saints, Spark Social House, Fireplace, Thurst, Trade, Uproar, Whitman-Walker Health, Destination DC, Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, DC Center, SMYAL, HRC, Bite the Fruit, 350 Bakery, Logan 14 Aveda Salon Spa, Vida Fitness U Street and Logan Circle, Freddie’s Beach Bar, Destination Tomorrow. The magazine is also available at D.C. and Northern Virginia libraries.
America 250
As we celebrate 250 years of America, let’s remember our elders
It’s important to acknowledge history and honor pioneering community members
Editor’s note: This is part of the “Queering America 250” LGBTQ history magazine published by the Washington Blade. The glossy magazine is free and available across the D.C. region during Pride.
You can find it here: Annie’s, As You Are, Bunker, Crush, DIK Bar, District Eagle, Green Lantern, Her Diner, Jane Jane, JR.’s, Icon, Kiki, Larry’s Lounge, Little Gay Pub, Nellie’s, Number Nine, Pitchers, Red Bear Brewing, Shakers, Sinners and Saints, Spark Social House, Fireplace, Thurst, Trade, Uproar, Whitman-Walker Health, Destination DC, Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, DC Center, SMYAL, HRC, Bite the Fruit, 350 Bakery, Logan 14 Aveda Salon Spa, Vida Fitness U Street and Logan Circle, Freddie’s Beach Bar, Destination Tomorrow. The magazine is also available at D.C. and Northern Virginia libraries.
The United States does not have a monarchy. I do not mean to comment on whether or not we live under tyranny or despotism, or if people live under modern serfdom; I mention that to explain, likely to the chagrin of our current president, U.S. citizens are not rewarded for their accomplishments by becoming a Knight or a Dame.
We do, however, like our awards, including trophies from academies and medals from the executive or legislature. The aforementioned current president likes awards so very much that the U.S. Congress and an international sports association created new awards just to appease him, and the recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize gifted hers. These incidents will likely be rendered as footnotes in history because of the sheer volume of lunacy we are enduring under this regime of idiocracy.
In entertainment, a coveted status is that of EGOT: the winning combination of receiving an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. I assert that not all EGOTs are equal. Some Emmys and Tonys are received merely by financing productions. Oscars and Grammys have been won because of sympathy for personal tragedy, the nominated veteran performer is considered overdue for a win, or a deceased nominee posthumously wins, as a final sendoff.
Not all awards are created equal. Some are considered prestigious, while others are less notable. As far as awards bestowed upon local entertainers, the Nation’s Capital has very few of the former. Given what I know about their processes, many are decided upon by small groups of often unremarkable people or flawed online procedures. It is not a meritocracy. Ultimately, receiving awards is about who knows you and who likes you. Even more unfortunate is that bias and bigotry play at least as much a part as loyalty or nepotism.
Winners of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes receive money, which is something some advocacy groups have done, and I wish more would do. As an outside observer, I find that the local awards for D.C. theater, television, and restaurants seem to have the most cachet. Some other awards that have a precise focus or have only a select few annual honorees are commendable, but many of the rest seem haphazard and disorganized, if not corrupt or simply irrelevant.
While most local awards fail to impress me, be it the categories, the trophies, the ceremonies, or the recipients themselves, I still want people to be recognized, so I nominate them. I point out who is often left out, such as DJs, who not only help to curate nightlife and culture but also enable these organizations to have successful events, including their award ceremonies and receptions.
Over the years, in many an awards nomination process, I have done my best to advocate for people, especially elders, whom I consider unsung heroes or under appreciated trailblazers. My focus is primarily Black LGBTQ people who are local or who hail from the region.
Consistently unacknowledged by local awards are people who are from here and have since gone on to achieve national or international acclaim. Merely from the perspective of production and promotion, and especially prestige, this seems like a missed opportunity.
There are the Black LGBTQ performers who are commonly known to be from this area: Grammy-winning musician and former Duke Ellington student Meshell Ndegeocello, comedian and former NSA employee Wanda Sykes, blues legend and former Fredericksburg science teacher Gaye Adegbalola, and recording artist and former D.C. nightclub performer Kevin Aviance.
There are several accomplished Black LGBTQ actors from this area, including Emmy winner and Duke Ellington graduate Samira Wiley, Helen Hayes Award winner and Howard University graduate Roz White, Emmy winner and graduate of Greenbelt’s Roosevelt High Tramell Tillman, “Noah’s Arc” cast member and Hyattsville native Doug Spearman, “Angel” cast member and former Bladensburg resident J. August Richards, and former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant-turned-actor and Prince George’s County native Isis King. Pioneering transgender actor and singer Sandra Caldwell was born and raised in Washington, D.C.
I also think of people who deserve posthumous recognition, including DJ and music producer Vjuan Allure, poet and D.C. government employee Venus Thrash, and Tony Washington, lead singer of the Motown vocal quintet Dynamic Superiors.
There are others in the performing arts, as well as authors, playwrights, journalists, and content creators, whose notable achievements seem to be unacknowledged locally. It appears one can be revered in certain D.C. circles, but once success is achieved beyond that, that person likely never receives a homecoming. It is reminiscent of U.S.-born showgirl and singer (and later war hero) Josephine Baker, who found success in France, and elsewhere around the world, but is less revered in the nation of her birth.
As some people celebrate 250 years of the United States, I hope we will all think about how we acknowledge history and honor our community members, especially our elders. In my opinion, we can do better. I think there are many people whose accomplishments, big or small, in various arenas, are overlooked. Furthermore, just as I find the flag-waving jingoism that purports itself as patriotism distasteful, I also think that lackluster ceremonies and overpriced trinkets are not the best ways to acknowledge community advocates and activists who particularly need financial support.
At least the aforementioned performers have received national acclaim. While I have not yet been successful in getting any of them honored by local organizations, I was able to acknowledge them here. I give you all your proverbial flowers. Congratulations on your success, and know that some of us see you and are proud of your success.
Zar is the mononynous community advocate, speechwriter, songwriter, and event organizer who founded Team Rayceen Productions in 2014.
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