News
Sen. Cotton: Wait for DOD study to decide on trans military service
An Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Cotton made the remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when host Chuck Todd asked the Arkansas Republican where he stands on the issue.
“Waiting for Jim Mattisā report,” Cotton replied. “You know, itās going to come out early next year. He has since said no one serving in the military will be removed from the military. Heās going to make the assessment. I think itās worthwhile to make that assessment. Just like Bob Gates went through more than a year of analysis in 2009, 2010, rather than making a precipitous change.”
Pressed on whether he’d have a problem serving alongside someone who’s transgender, Cotton declined to answer, saying he never made inquiries to his comrades about their gender identity.
“I donāt know,” Cotton said. “I didnāt go around asking them that. Just like I might have served with a gay or lesbian soldier as well.”
With Defense Secretary James Mattis’s study due to President Trump on Feb. 21, Cotton said his priority is military readiness ā a quality that proponents of transgender military service say would be strengthened if transgender people were allowed to serve.
“But what we have to focus on is the readiness of our forces and the readiness of individual units and individual soldiers,” Cotton said. “And make sure that they are prepared to fight and win our countryās wars.”
Cotton deferred to the upcoming report when asked he has any sense transgender troops are unable to meet standards for the U.S. military.
“I think we have to wait for Jim Mattisā report,” Cotton said. “Just like Bob Gates went through a very thorough review and made this assessment. But I want to make sure that the focus in our military is preparing our soldiers to fight and win our wars.”
Cotton declines to weigh in on transgender military service days after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (-D-N.Y.) introduced bipartisan legislation against Trump’s transgender military ban. Among the co-sponsors are Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who have both declared support for allowing transgender troops to serve.
Watch the video here:
The White House
Jane Rigby awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
Sitting among a diverse and venerable group of Americans from every walk of life on the dais in the East Room of the White House on May 3 was lesbian and NASA astrophysicist Jane Rigby, awaiting her turn to be honored by President Joe Biden who would bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nationās highest civilian honor, on her.
Rigby, an astronomer who grew up in Delaware, is the chief scientist of the worldās most powerful telescope who alongside her team operating NASAās James Webb Space Telescope, studies every phase in the history of the universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of the solar system.
A member of Penn Stateās Class of 2000, Rigby graduated with a bachelorās degrees in physics and astronomy. She also holds a masterās degree and a PhD in astronomy from at the University of Arizona. Her work as the senior project scientist for NASAās Webb Telescope includes studies on how galaxies evolve over cosmic time and she has published more than 140 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
Rigby was named to Nature.comās 2022 list of 10 individuals who shaped science and to the BBCās list of 100 inspiring and influential women in the same year. Rigby had postdoctoral fellowships at Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, Calif., before landing her job at Goddard Space Flight Center. In 2013 Rigby was awarded the Robert H. Goddard Award for Exceptional Achievement for Science.
A founding member of the American Astronomical Societyās Working Group on LGBTQ Equality in January 2012, now called the Committee for Sexual Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy, Rigby serves as its Board Liaison until her term expires this June.
The lesbian astrophysicist in an interview for SGMAās website spoke about her experiences including coming out:
āIāve been out since 2000. My storyās simple ā I fell in love with a fellow grad student in the department. It was a close-knit department, so hiding would have been ludicrous. Nor did I want to hide the best thing in my life! So, we were out as grad students. I certainly heard people say awful homophobic things at work there. They werenāt directed at me, and they werenāt said by people with power over me. If I recall, I was much less afraid of homophobic discrimination at work, than I was afraid of the two-body problem, and the lack of support we would receive as a same-sex couple in astronomy. That fear turned out to be justified. Iāve seen numerous different-sex couples get a wide range of support in solving the two-body problem, which was never offered to us,ā she told the interviewer.
She reflected on American astronaut and physicist Sally Ride, her childhood role model who had an impact on her career:
āOne of my biggest role models when I was young was Dr. Sally Ride. A few years ago, on her deathbed, Dr. Ride chose to write in her obituary that her life partner had been a woman. Dr. Ride was the most influential woman scientist when I was growing up ā the person that made me say, āI want to do THAT when I grow up.ā It was because of her that I realized that astrophysics was a profession, that physics was a subject girls could study, that NASA needed astrophysicists. So Iām so ā¦ amused, I suppose, that Sally Ride was this influence on my lifeās path, at a time when I was completely unaware that it was even possible to *be gay* ā and at the same time, she was gay, in love, and deeply closeted to keep her job.ā
The interviewer noted that āfor some women being gay is a cause for concern at the work place. Some say they were unsure about how to turn their sexual orientation into a positive aspect of their work persona.ā Then asked Rigby what is your view on this?
āMy experience is that absolutely I am a *better* astronomer because Iām queer. For a few reasons. First, I see things different than my colleagues. On mission work, as we weigh a decision, my first thought is always the community impact: ‘If we do things this way, who benefits, and who gets left out in the cold?’ Will this policy create inclusion, or marginalization? I think about science in terms of community-building. What team do we need to tackle a given science problem, with skills that are different from mine? Absolutely I think that way because Iām an outsider, because Iāve been marginalized. And because community-building is central to LGBTQ culture,ā she said.
Editorās note: You can read Rigbyās complete SGMA interview here: (Link)
Married to Dr. Andrea Leistra, Rigby, her wife and their young child reside in Maryland not far from her workplace at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Washington and when not studying the universe is often found on the neighboring Chesapeake Bay wind boarding, a favored pastime.
Also honored in the ceremony Friday were a former U.S. vice president, a civil rights worker and martyr, two former Cabinet secretaries ā one a former U.S. secretary of state, a speech writer for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an Olympian and gold medalist, and one of the most powerful woman political leaders and the speaker emeritus of the U.S. House of Representatives, among others, and LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard.
WATCH
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Bladeās Pride on the Pier and fireworks show returning June 8
The annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation will take place on Saturday, June 8 at 9 p.m.
The Washington Blade, in partnership with LURe DC and The Wharf, is excited to announce the 5th annual Pride on the Pier and fireworks show during D.C. Pride weekend on Saturday, June 8, 2024, from 2-10 p.m.
The event will include the annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation at 9 p.m.
Pride on the Pier extends the cityās annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Southwest waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older. Local DJās Heat, Eletrox and Honey will perform throughout the event.
3 p.m. – Capital Pride Parade on the Big Screen
3:30 p.m. – Drag Show hosted by Cake Pop!
9 p.m. – Fireworks Show Presented by Leonard-Litz Foundation
The event is free and open to the public. The Dockmasters Building will be home to a VIP experience. To learn more and to purchase tickets go to www.prideonthepier.com/vip. VIP tickets are limited.
Event sponsors include Absolut, Buying Time, Capital Pride, DC Brau, DC Fray, Burney Wealth Management,Ā Infinate Legacy, Leonard-Litz Foundation,Ā Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, MISTR, NBC4, The Wharf. More information regarding activities will be released at www.PrideOnThePier.com
Maryland
Trone discusses transgender niece
Blade interviewed Md. congressman, Angela Alsobrooks last week
Editor’s note: The Washington Blade last week interviewed both U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. The full interviews with both Democratic candidates for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)’s seat will be on the Blade’s website later this week.
Maryland Congressman David Trone last week discussed his transgender niece during an interview with the Washington Blade about his U.S. Senate campaign.
Trone, who is running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), on May 1 told the Blade during a telephone interview that his niece transitioned when she was in her early 20s. Trone also noted she attended Furman University, a small, liberal arts university in Greenville, S.C.
“I was concerned about how she would be able to transition there,” said Trone.
Trone, who founded Total Wine & More, attended Furman University as an undergrad and is on the school’s board of trustees. Trone told the Blade he donated $10 million to the university to “build out their mental health capacity, which I felt was a way that she could have the best mental health care possible when she worked her way through (her) transition.”
Trone’s niece graduated from the university after she spent five years there.
“She had a great relationship with Furman,” said Trone.
Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are the leading Democrats running to succeed Cardin. The winner of the May 14 Democratic primary will face former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in November.