National
White House silent on couple’s Easter request for exec order
Measure would bar anti-LGBT bias among federal contractors
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The White House remains mum about the idea of President Obama issuing an executive order requiring federal contractors to bar discrimination against LGBT workers — despite a call Monday for him to take action from a gay couple that participated in the annual Easter Egg Roll event.
Under questioning from NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said he has no updates on “possible or proposed executive orders” when asked to respond to the gay couple’s request.
“I don’t have updates for you on possible or proposed executive orders,” Carney said. “I would note that we’re delighted that that couple and many others were delighted to attend the Easter Egg Roll and, again, I don’t have anything more on the executive order.”
Jarrod Scarbrough and Les Sewell, who hail from Albuquerque, N.M., and have been partners for 18 years, intended to ask Obama to issue an executive order requiring companies doing business with the federal government to have non-discrimination policies protecting LGBT workers during the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday.
Asked by NBC News about why the couple was attending the event, Carney said the couple was invited along with other “families of all kinds” that had been asked to attend.
“Well, they’re here because they were invited and the president — you know, many, many people — families of all kinds are invited to this wonderful event and the president is delighted that they and others were able to attend,” Carney said.
Asked to comment further on the couple’s actions, Carney reiterated previous comments he’s made in response to LGBT-related inquiries on Obama’s record on LGBT issues.
“I don’t have anything for you on a specific executive order,” Carney said. “What I can tell you is, I think, the president’s position on LGBT issues — record, rather — is well known and one that he and we are very proud of.”
The exchange marks the first time that a mainstream media outlet has publicly questioned an administration official about the proposed executive order. Previously, all inquiries had come from the LGBT press.
During a conference call with reporters Monday, Scarbrough said he’s seeking the executive order because he works for a federal contractor, United Healthcare. According to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index, the company already has non-discrimination policies set up inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity.
But Scarbrough said he “felt it was important to push President Obama on an executive order” because United Healthcare’s policy is voluntary and he’s being relocated to Florida, which has no statutory non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in the workplace.
“Because of those reasons, I feel that it is important to advocate for myself, my family and any other families around the nation who are affected by this as well,” Scarbrough said.
But the couple didn’t have the opportunity to speak with Obama. Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL, told the Washington Blade, “He was gone by the time their slot was up.”
The couple is one voice in a growing choir that is urging Obama to take action. Last week, 72 House Democrats wrote a letter to Obama urging him to issue the order. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund became the first non-LGBT civil rights group to endorse the executive order.
Multiple sources have said the Labor and Justice Departments have cleared such a measure, but the White House has remained silent on whether it will take such action.
Since the executive order is similar in its goal to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the directive has sometimes been referred to as the “ENDA” executive order. However, the order would be more limited in scope because it only affects federal contractors.
A transcript of the exchange between NBC News and Carney follows:
NBC News: And on a separate note, Jay, a New Mexico same-sex couple brought their eight-year-old daughter to the White House today for the Easter Egg Roll, in part to send a message to the President that he should sign an executive order that would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Does he plan to sign this executive order?
Jay Carney: I don’t have updates for you on possible or proposed executive orders. I would note that we’re delighted that that couple and many others were delighted to attend the Easter Egg Roll and, again, I don’t have anything more on the executive order.
NBC News: Does the president have a reaction to the fact that they’re here and that they —
Carney: Well, they’re here because they were invited and the president — you know, many, many people — families of all kinds are invited to this wonderful event and the president is delighted that they and others were able to attend.
NBC News: But as you know, they’ve been speaking out. They’ve been speaking to various members of the press about this issue, and —
Carney: Well, again, I don’t have anything for you on a specific executive order. What I can tell you is, I think, the president’s position on LGBT issues — record, rather — is well known and one that he and we are very proud of.
Federal Government
UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House
University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams
In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”
The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.
“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”
Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”
Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”
Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.
Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.
The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.
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.”
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