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Carney defers to DNC on marriage in Dem platform

Declines to say if Obama would embrace national marriage campaign

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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney deferred to the Democratic National Committee a series of questions on Tuesday about the implications of including same-sex marriage in the Democratic Party platform.

Under questioning initiated by Sirius XM Radio’s Jared Rizzi, Carney deferred to the DNC when asked whether President Obama would “embrace a national campaign to promote marriage equality.”

“And I would simply refer you to what the president has said and what his personal views are, and then to the DNC for what I understand is a process that is still developing as regards to their platform,” Carney said.

Carney similarly deferred a question from the Washington Blade on whether the administration thinks the inclusion of a marriage equality plank in the party platform should prompt Democrats running for office who don’t support same-sex marriage — including Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tim Kaine of Virginia — to reconsider their position.

On Monday, the Washington Blade first reported that the 15-member Democratic Party platform drafting committee decided to include a marriage equality plank in the initial draft of the manifesto.

A transcript of the exchange between reporters and Carney follows:

SIRIUS XM RADIO: Jay, now that it looks like the DNC will be adopting national gay marriage as part of their platform, will the embrace of that platform be a further evolution for the President on the issue of marriage equality?

JAY CARNEY: I think you heard the president discuss his position and his personal view that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships and want to marry from doing so. With regards to the DNC platform, I think that issue is still being worked out, and I would refer you to the DNC.

SIRIUS XM RADIO: But when the president did discuss that issue, his focus was still on states dealing with it, and this would be something from a national perspective. Would the president, based on what he said in those interviews at that time, would he embrace a national campaign to promote marriage equality? 

JAY CARNEY: Well, you’re conflating a bunch of things about a discussion at the DNC about a party platform to a national campaign. And I would simply refer you to what the president has said and what his personal views are, and then to the DNC for what I understand is a process that is still developing as regards to their platform.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Can I jump in here?

CARNEY: Sure.

WASHINGTON BLADE: I broke the news yesterday on how the platform committee on Sunday included the marriage equality plank in the platform. There are several Democrats down ticket who do not hold the view that they support same-sex marriage including Jon Tester in Montana, Tim Kaine in Virginia, and Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Does the administration believe that the adoption of that language in the platform should prompt these Democrats to reconsider their position as they pursue office?

CARNEY: I would refer you to the DNC, Chris.  It’s, again, as I just said, an issue that’s being developed in the usual fashion as they work on a platform, and I would send you there for that question.

In May, Obama announced that he had completed his “evolution” on same-sex marriage, saying he “just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” But the president has never explicit talked about the inclusion of marriage equality in the Democratic platform even though he’s the head of the party.

The DNC hasn’t responded to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the platform’s marriage equality plank. On Monday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest deferred on similar question on the language to the DNC.

The Obama campaign has issued a response to the proposed plank on marriage equality and later clarified the statement to emphasize that it isn’t an endorsement.

“The president’s personal views on marriage equality are known. The president and the party are committed to crafting a platform that reflects the president’s positions and the values of the party,” an Obama campaign spokesperson said earlier this month in an email to the Washington Blade.

 

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

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.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

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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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free

Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

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The U.S. Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022, to present. Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.

The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.

An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.

They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.

Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.

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