National
Griffin says LGBT youth will motivate him at HRC
Activist wants Obama to endorse marriage equality, issue ENDA exec order
Chad Griffin has an image in mind as he prepares for his role to become the new president of the Human Rights Campaign: young LGBT Americans who lie awake in bed at night worrying about their future.
Griffin, a Los Angeles-based activist who has a long career in progressive advocacy and roots on both the East and West Coast, said growing up in a small town in Arkansas he identified as that young person who couldn’t acknowledge or be open about who he was.
“Some people know me as a guy who lives in L.A. and used to live in Washington, but my entire childhood was in Arkansas, and it’s where my entire family lives today,” Griffin said.
Griffin said his motivation over the next few years at HRC will be to impact the lives of “that young kid, the young student, who lives in Fresno or Bakersfield or Arkansas, or Washington, D.C., for that matter.”
“The fact that every single night, where we all have very lucky lives and live in places where we’re accepted, there are thousands, if not millions, of kids who go to bed every night staring at the ceiling — something that so many of us all did — not being able to go to sleep out of fear of waking up the next day and facing that next day,” Griffin said.
Griffin spoke with the Washington Blade over the phone from Dulles Airport as he awaited his flight back to Los Angeles. He was on his way to attend on Saturday Dustin Lance Black’s play ‘8,’ which is about the enactment of Proposition 8 in California.
The new HRC president, who’s set to take on his role in June, comes to the organization after having started and served as board president for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. The group, founded in 2009, is responsible for the ongoing litigation against California’s marriage ban.
During the interview, Griffin was hesitant to talk about specific policies he’d like to pursue, noting Joe Solmonese is still running HRC, but said he wants to continue the positive change the LGBT community has seen over the past few years.
“It means changes in the workplaces, changes at the state and local level, and, obviously, it means significant policy changes at the federal level,” Griffin said. “So much has been accomplished over the past several years, but we’re not finished. And that kid is still waking up staring at the ceiling because he or she lives in a country where their government directly and intentionally discriminates against them.”
Griffin said his sense of urgency will be his top challenge at the helm of HRC, saying, “If in fact patience is a virtue, it’s a virtue I do not possess. I voice frustration consistently at the pace at which we make progress.”
“If you were to talk to anyone who knows me, I think that they would describe first and foremost my lack of patience and how self-critical I am when I can’t achieve what we need to achieve,” Griffin said.
When he comes to HRC in June, the race for the White House will be well underway, as well as the race for control of Congress. The LGBT community will see measures on marriage in Minnesota and Maine, and possibly Washington State and Maryland. (The anti-gay ballot measure in North Carolina is set for a vote in May prior to when Griffin will take over HRC.)
Griffin said he has a background as a political strategist and is used to working behind-the-scenes, developing campaign plans and executing them.
“If you’re going to win the war, you’ve got to fight the battle on every single front,” Griffin said. “So that’s at the federal level. It’s on the state and local level. With any campaign, with limited resources, you have to be smart about your investments and about your plan, but I am not one who believes we should forego any avenues of victory.”
The incoming HRC president also comes into the role as many critics contend HRC has been too cozy with the Obama administration and too afraid to criticize Democratic lawmakers.
Griffin said observers should look to his previous work to discover that he’s “not one who’s shy about disagreeing with friends and colleagues” when he believes they’re wrong.
“I have a long record in that and think that’s the best way to judge how I will act,” Griffin said. “I’m not one who is thought to be shy or easily intimidated, and you typically will always know what I’m thinking and how I feel.”
Asked about criticism that HRC caters too much to more affluent members of the LGBT community by hosting black-tie dinners while others in the community feel left behind, Griffin said the organization’s outreach will be inclusive.
“LGBT people comes in all ages, all religions, all political affiliations, all colors,” Griffin said. “They are all part of the inclusion strategy and they are my motivation.”
Griffin said he’s on board with two major asks for President Obama from the LGBT community: an endorsement of same-sex marriage and an executive order requiring federal contractors to have LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination policies.
“I fundamentally believe that not only the president but our members of Congress and all of our leaders should support marriage equality, and we should do everything in our power to get them to that position,” Griffin said.
Griffin called the proposed directive for federal contractors “something that should happen, and should happen as quickly as possible,” but said it’s only the first step and passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is necessary.
“It’s so frustrating that we’re in a country where we still don’t have an inclusive ENDA,” Griffin said. “That is something that has to remain a priority, but I would think that the executive order that has been discussed and proposed and pushed forward is a good step and should happen.”
As Griffin takes on his new role, he said the work at AFER against Proposition 8 will continue. The only change, he said, will be that he’s stepping down as board president, although he’ll continue to serve on the board. Griffin said there are no plans to absorb AFER into HRC.
Iran
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Ceasefire announced less than two hours before Tuesday deadline
The Council for Global Equality is among the groups that condemned President Donald Trump on Tuesday over his latest threats against Iran.
Trump in a Truth Social post said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the U.S. by 8 p.m. ET. on Tuesday.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran.
One of them killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran in response launched missiles and drones against Israel and other countries that include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus.
Gas prices in the U.S. and around the world continue to increase because the war has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes.
Trump less than 90 minutes before his deadline announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan helped broker.
“We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out,” reads the statement that the Council for Global Equality more than 200 other organizations and human rights experts signed. “A threat to wipe out ‘a whole civilization’ may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts ‘with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.'”
The statement states “the law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.”
“Strikes on civilian infrastructure — such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants — have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment,” it reads.
“We urge all parties to respect international law,” adds the statement. “Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.”
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, MADRE, and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center are among the other groups that signed the letter.
National
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
Campaign began as student-led protests against anti-LGBTQ bullying, discrimination
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence will take place on April 10.
The annual Day of Silence began as a student-led protest in response to bullying and discrimination that LGBTQ students face. It is now a national campaign for the LGBTQ community and their allies to come together for LGBTQ youth.
It takes place annually and has multiple ways for supporters to get involved in the movement.
Glisten, originally GLSEN, champions LGBTQ issues in schools, grades K-12. Glisten’s mission is to create more inclusive and accepting environments for LGBTQ students through curriculum, supportive measures, education campaigns, and engagement, such as the Day of Silence.
There are three main ways for the community to get involved in the Day of Silence.
Glisten has a Day of Silence frame, a series of pictures used as profile photos across social media that feature individuals holding signs. The signs allow for personalization, by providing a space to put the individual’s name, followed by filling in the prompt “ … and I am ENDING the silence by…”
Participants are encouraged to post the photo on social media and use it as a profile picture. The templates can be found on Google Drive through this link.
Using #DayOfSilence and #NSCS, as well as tagging Glisten’s official Page @glistencommunity, is another way to participate in the Day of Silence.
Glisten also encourages participants to tag creators, friends, family and use a call to action in their caption, to call attention to the facts and stories behind the Day of Silence.
“Today’s administration in the U.S. wants us to stay silent, submit to their biased and hurtful conformity, and stop fighting for our right to be authentically ourselves,” said Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers. “We urge supporters to use their social platforms and check in with local chapters to be boots on the ground to help LGBTQ+ students feel seen, heard, supported, and less alone. By participating in the ‘Day of Silence,’ you are showing solidarity with young people as they navigate identity, safety, and belonging. Our voices matter.”
Hungary
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
Anti-LGBTQ prime minister trailing ahead of April 12 vote
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday urged Hungarians to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s April 12 elections.
“We have got to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary,” Vance told Orbán supporters who gathered at Budapest’s MTK Sportpark.
Vance and Orbán on Tuesday met before they held a press conference in Budapest. Orbán also spoke at the rally.
The U.S. vice president after he took to the stage called President Donald Trump, who told the crowd he is “a big fan of Viktor” and is “with him all the way.” Vance, as he did during Tuesday’s press conference with Orbán, criticized the European Union.
“We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
Vance in his speech noted “across the West, we’ve got a small band of radicals” who, among other things, “condemn children to mutilization and sterilization in the name of gender care.” Vance also criticized a “far-left ideology given quarter in university circles, in the media, and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Vice President JD Vance speaks at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026
Orbán has been in office since 2010. He and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
A Hungarian activist with whom the Washington Blade previously spoke said it is “impossible to change your gender legally in Hungary” because of a 2020 law that “banned legal gender recognition of transgender and intersex people.” Hungarian MPs the same year effectively prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children and defined marriage in the country’s constitution as between a man and a woman.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
Polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ahead of the April 12 election. Vance at Tuesday’s rally told Orbán supporters that he and Trump “want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do.”
“I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
“Unlike some of the leadership of Brussels, I’m not threatening you or telling you that we’re going to withhold funds to which you’re legally entitled,” he added. “You will make the decision about Hungary’s future.”
Magyar on Tuesday appeared to dismiss Vance’s comments.
“No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares,” said Magyar on his X account.
A spokesperson for the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, told the Blade that neither Magyar, nor his party have reached out to the organization.
The spokesperson said the group does not “campaign directly for them or for any other political party.” The Háttér Society, however, is encouraging LGBTQ Hungarians to vote.
“Ahead of election day, we will encourage everyone on our social media channels to go out and vote, as this is the only way we can act against a system that has been working against the LGBTQI community for many years,” said the spokesperson.
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
White House ends protections for trans students in multiple school districts
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
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