National
Tenn. activists rally for ENDA executive order
Sanders faults nat’l groups for not providing strategy
Barbara Stover (left), Darren Crawford (center) and Janet Moore protest for employment protections in Cookevile, Tenn. (photo by R.G. Cravens)
Faced with living in a state with no non-discrimination law protecting them, LGBT activists demonstrated in three Tennessee cities on Sunday to call on President Obama to issue an executive order barring federal contractors from engaging in job bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Chris Sanders, president of the Tennessee Equality Project, said he organized the demonstration as part of 24 Tennessee groups because of a law signed last year by Gov. Bill Haslem (R) prohibiting cities from passing LGBT non-discrimination ordinances. That measure rescinded a contractor non-discrimination ordinance that passed a couple months earlier in Nashville.
“We had experienced in 2011 Nashville passing a contractor non-discrimination ordinance only to have the state nullify it,” Sanders said. “So, we have no option but this executive order and ENDA ahead of us in Tennessee. We have no hope for getting state employment protections at the state level when now we can’t even pass them in our city.”
The Obama administration has thus far withheld issuing an executive order along these lines. Just last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama prefers legislation known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because that measure would “provide lasting and comprehensive protections for LGBT people across the country regardless of whether they happen to work for a government contractor.”
A White House spokesperson declined to comment over the weekend about the Tennessee demonstration.
Protestors demonstrated at the three places in Tennessee: in front of the federal building in Memphis; in front of the Putnam County Courthouse in Cookeville and the War Memorial Plaza in Nashville. Sanders estimated that a total of 115 people showed up for the rallies: 30 in Memphis; 15 in Cookeville and 70 in Nashville.
The Tennessee Equality Project has also launched an online petition at the White House website calling on Obama to issue the executive order. As of Sunday evening, the petition had 4,700 signatures. If a total of 25,000 people sign the petition by Wednesday, the White House will issue an official response.
“If this item is signaled as a priority in our movement, which is what we’ve been reading, then we as our community ought to be showing that it’s important to us,” Sanders added. “That’s why did these rallies, that’s why we started the petition.”
Sanders didn’t limit his protest to the White House, but faulted national groups and bloggers for not providing a strategy to build grassroots support for the executive order, saying local activists “haven’t really been given marching orders of what we’re all supposed to be doing to get it done.”
“I would think that either the national bloggers or the national organizations that serve our community would have put together some public strategy for building support for it,” Sanders said. “I know they’re lobbying to get things going along, and we think that’s absolutely critical. We do that at the state and local level and we know the value of that, but you also have to build public support, and we haven’t seen a lot of that.”
Sanders declined to identify which national groups and bloggers weren’t doing enough on the executive order, but said he sent out the news release and didn’t find much interest.
“We’re just hoping that other states begin movement because we’re not getting a clear signal at the national level of what we’re supposed to be doing,” Sanders said. “Again, I thought the signal was clear that it’s a priority, but we’re supposed to do, that’s been ambiguous, so we just took matters into our own hands here.”
Tico Almeida, president of the national LGBT group Freedom to Work, said he agrees “it’s important to build public support for the executive order in addition to traditional lobbying” and said he undertook efforts to collaborate with the Tennessee activists and alert media about the demonstration.
“We were very glad to receive an email this weekend with a press release about the Tennessee rallies for the executive order, and we wrote back to Chris Sanders to offer our help getting the word out,” Almeida said. “We then forwarded the press release to the Washington Blade so that the Tennessee efforts could get news coverage. We are very eager to collaborate with any state or local LGBT organizations interested in pushing for the executive order and for ENDA the statute.”
The Human Rights Campaign, another national LGBT group calling for the executive order, didn’t respond to a request to comment on Sanders’ remarks.
Gray Alexander addresses the rally for employment non-discrmination protections in Nashville (photo courtesy Chris Sanders)
In addition to having a law prohibiting cities from passing non-discrimination ordinances, Tennessee has no state law on the books protecting LGBT people against job bias in the workforce. LGBT people in the state would need either federal action for protection, such as the executive order or passage of ENDA.
Among those demonstrating was Gray Alexander, who’s 15 and co-president of the gay-straight alliance at Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet High School in Nashville.
Alexander, who identifies as pansexual, said he participated in the protest because he says the executive order is “the only way for us to get equality in the workplace.”
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “It’s an important thing that needs to happen for all our states. There’s no need discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the workplace anywhere in the U.S., or anywhere in the world.”
Alexander said he hasn’t personally been the victim of discrimination in employment, but says harassment of LGBT students in commonplace within his school.
“My school is a much more progressive school than other schools in the state, but there’s obvious discrimination based on sexual orientation,” Alexander said. “It’s not as confrontational as a lot of other places. A lot of it is just calling someone ‘gay’ or ‘faggot’ behind their back, or pointing at them as they walk by.”
Kal Dwight, who’s 21 and a transgender Memphis resident, said he demonstrated because as a volunteer at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center he’s seen employment discrimination against transgender woman.
“They definitely have a really hard time getting a job anywhere,” Dwight said. “Anytime we can get them more protections is good — especially here in the African-American community.”
Despite the stated reluctance on behalf of the White House, Dwight was optimistic that Obama would issue an executive order protecting LGBT workers.
“I think he’s going to do it; I just don’t think he’s going to do it right this second,” Dwight said. “I have faith that he’s going to do it.”
A prominent incident of alleged LGBT employment discrimination in Tennessee has occurred in recent years.
Former Belmont University head soccer coach Lisa Howe in 2010 may have been dismissed from her post because she’s a lesbian.
At the time, Howe and her partner were expecting a baby. After the Christian college denied her permission to share this information with her team, Howe resigned. According to an article in The Huffington Post, those familiar with the situation alleged Belmont University told Howe her sexual orientation wasn’t consistent with the school’s values and she’d would have to resign or be fired.
The school ultimately sent out a statement saying her removal was a mutual decision between officials and Howe.
According to a search on USASpending.gov, Belmont University is a federal contractor. However, as a Christian-affiliated school, the college may be still free to discriminate against LGBT workers even under ENDA or an executive order barring workplace discrimination because of the religious exemption.
Alexander recalled that incident and said the loss of Howe’s job was “unacceptable” — particularly because she did exceptional work as the soccer coach for the school.
“They went from losing professionally and to a winning season, and so then she wanted to come out, and she quit for working for them,” Alexander said. “The fact that she had to leave because she was gay, even though she was phenomenal soccer coach is really frustrating. Her track record didn’t make up for that fact that she was gay.”
According to the news release for the protests, a coalition of 24 Tennessee-based groups organized the demonstrations: Austin Peay State University Gay/Straight Alliance, Out & About Newspaper, Tennessee Tech Lambda, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce, PFLAG Nashville, Greater Nashville Prime Timers, GLSEN Middle TN, Metro Human Relations Commission, Nashville Pride, OutCentral, Just Us at Oasis Center, PFLAG Maryville, Human Rights Campaign Nashville Steering Committee, CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, Vanderbilt Lambda Association, Tennessee Democratic Party, Latino Memphis, First Congregational Church Memphis Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region, Shelby County Democratic Party, Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center, Perpetual Transition, Tennessee Friends of People’s World and Tennessee Citizen Action.
National
LGBTQ Catholic groups slam Trump over pope criticism
‘Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate’
LGBTQ Catholic groups have sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
Leo on April 13 told reporters while traveling to Algeria that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” after the president described him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in response to his opposition to the Iran war. (Trump on the same day posted to Truth Social an image that appeared to show him as Jesus Christ. He removed it on April 13 amid backlash from religious leaders.)
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, during a Fox News Channel interview on the same day said “in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on with the Catholic church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” Vance on April 14 once again discussed Leo during an appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga., saying he should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Díaz; and Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are among those who have criticized Trump over his comments. The president, for his part, has said he will not apologize to Leo.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” said Leo on Thursday at a cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon.
Francis DeBernardo is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization. He told the Washington Blade on Thursday that Trump’s comments about Leo “are one more example of the ridiculous hubris of this leader (Trump) whose entire record shows that he is nothing more than a middle-school bully.”
“LGBTQ+ adults were often bullied as children, and they have learned the lesson that bullies act when they feel frightened or threatened,” said DeBernardo. “But secular power does not threaten the Vicar of Christ, and Pope Leo’s response illustrates this truth perfectly.”
DeBernardo added Trump “is obviously frightened that Pope Leo, an American, has more power and influence than the president on the world stage.”
“Like most Trumpian bullying, this strategy will backfire,” DeBernardo told the Blade. “Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate. Trump’s actions are not an example of his power, but of his impotence.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ Catholic organization, echoed DeBernardo.
“He [Trump] has demonstrated throughout both presidencies that he doesn’t understand the basic concepts of any faith system that is founded on the dignity of human beings, the importance of common good,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade on Thursday during a telephone interview. “It’s just appalling.”
Duddy-Burke praised Leo and the American cardinals who have publicly criticized Trump.
“The pope’s popularity — given how much more respect Pope Leo has than the man sitting in the White House — is a blow to his ego,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade. “That seems to be a sore sport for him.”
“It’s such an imperialistic world view,” she added.
Leo ‘is the real peacemaker’
The College of Cardinals last May elected Leo to succeed Pope Francis after his death.
Leo, who was born in Chicago, is the first American pope. He was the bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015-2023.
Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.
Juan Carlos Cruz — a gay Chilean man and clergy sex abuse survivor who Francis appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — has traveled to Ukraine several times with Dominican Sister Lucía Caram since Russia launched its war against the country in 2022. Cruz on Thursday responded to Trump’s criticism of Leo in a text message he sent to the Blade from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
“I am in Ukraine under many attacks,” said Cruz. “Trump is an asshole and has zero right to criticize the Pope who is the real peacemaker.”
Tennessee
Charlie Kirk Act advances in Tenn.
Bill would limit protests, protects speakers opposing ‘transgender’ identities
The Tennessee legislature has passed Senate Bill 1741 / House Bill 1476, dubbed the “Charlie Kirk Act,” which, if signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, would reshape how public colleges and universities regulate speech on campus.
The measure targets all public higher education institutions and requires them to adopt a “free expression” policy modeled on the University of Chicago’s framework. That framework emphasizes that universities should not shield students from controversial or offensive ideas and requires state schools to formally embrace institutional neutrality — meaning they do not publicly take a stance on political or social issues.
Under the legislation, publicly funded schools cannot disinvite or cancel invited speakers based on their viewpoints or in response to protests from students or faculty. Student organizations, however — like Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses, founded by Charlie Kirk, and often lack widely represented liberal counterparts — would retain broad authority to bring speakers to campus regardless of controversy.
The law includes broad protections for individuals and organizations expressing religious or ideological beliefs, including opposition to abortion, homosexuality, or transgender identity, regardless of whether those views are rooted in religious or secular beliefs. It further prohibits public institutions from retaliating against faculty for protected speech or scholarly work.
The bill, which has been hailed by supporters as an effort to “preserve campus free speech,” ironically also limits protest activity. Shouting down speakers, blocking sightlines, staging disruptive walkouts, or physically preventing entry to events are now considered “substantial interference” under the legislation, making those who engage in such actions subject to discipline.
Some of those disciplinary consequences include probation, suspension, and even expulsion for students, while faculty who protest in ways deemed to violate the policy could face unpaid suspensions and termination after repeated violations.
Supporters of the bill argue it strengthens free expression on campus. State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), the bill’s sponsor, said it reinforces a commitment to “civil and robust” debate at public universities.
“The Charlie Kirk Act creates critical safeguards for students and faculty and renews the idea that our higher education institutions should be centers of intellectual debate,” Bulso told Fox 17. “This legislation honors the legacy of Charlie Kirk by promoting thoughtful engagement and defending religious freedom.”
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have raised concerns that the legislation effectively elevates certain ideological viewpoints — particularly those tied to religious objections to LGBTQ identities — while exposing students and faculty to punishment for protest or dissent.
“It’s ironic that this body is talking about free speech when we had professors in Tennessee schools expelled and suspended when they did not mourn the death of Charlie Kirk — when they said that his statements were problematic and that the way he died did not redeem the way he lived,” state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) told WKRN.
Kirk, the right-wing activist and founder of Turning Point USA, for whom the bill is named, was assassinated in September 2025 at a public event at Utah Valley University. His legacy and rhetoric remain deeply polarizing, particularly among LGBTQ advocates, who have cited his history of anti-LGBTQ statements in opposing his campus appearances.
The bill now heads to Lee’s desk for his signature.
National
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
Capitol Police arrested five protesters
A group of protesters interrupted Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought during his testimony before Congress on Wednesday.
Vought was at the Cannon House Office Building to give testimony to the House Budget Committee.
Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) began the hearing by touting what he described as economic accomplishments of the Trump-Vance administration’s economic accomplishments. Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) disputed those claims in his opening statement.
Boyle went on to admonish Vought for not attending a committee hearing in the previous year.
Vought, the “Project 2025” architect, was invited to speak after Arrington and Boyle made their statements.
Shortly after Vought began reading his statement, Housing Works CEO Charles King stood up in the gallery and began shouting, “PEPFAR saves lives: spend the money!”
The U.S. Capitol Police moved quickly to escort King from the room. Other activists began chanting with King as they unfolded signs bearing a picture of Vought’s face and statements such as, “Vought’s cuts kill people with AIDS,” and “Protect PEPFAR from Vought.”
The group of HIV/AIDS activists included independent activists, former U.S. Agency for International Development and PEPFAR staff, members of Health GAP, Housing Works, and the Treatment Action Group. Six activists were escorted from the hearing and the U.S. Capitol Police detained five of them.
The HIV/AIDS treatment activists protested at the hearing in response to the dismantling of global health programs, including PEPFAR, a federally-funded program credited with saving millions of lives from HIV/AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Russell Vought is directly responsible for illegally withholding Congressionally appropriated funds for PEPFAR and related global health initiative,” King said in a statement provided to the Washington Blade. “These funding disruptions have already contributed to preventable deaths and threaten to reverse decades of progress in the fight against HIV worldwide. Enough is enough. Congress must ensure Vought stops this deadly sabotage.”
LGBTQ Catholic groups slam Trump over pope criticism
Grindr to host first-ever White House Correspondents’ Dinner party
Charlie Kirk Act advances in Tenn.
Belarusian president signs bill to allow LGBTQ rights crackdown
‘The Pitt’ stars discuss what season two gets right about queer representation
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Viktor Orbán ousted in Hungarian elections
How to navigate shifting tenant expectations
Court orders Pride flag to return to Stonewall
