National
Gay group calls on Supreme Court to strike down DOMA
GLAD brief says ‘reasons are strong’ for review
GLAD’s Mary Bonauto (center) poses for a photo with Gill plaintiffs (Blade file photo by Chris Johnson)
The New England-based LGBT group responsible for the most successful lawsuit to date targeting the Defense of Marriage Act on Thursday filed a formal request asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the anti-gay law.
The filing from Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders responds to petitions from the House Republican-led Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group and the U.S. Justice Department calling on the Supreme Court to take up the lawsuit — the consolidated case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services.
In a historic decision on May 31, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Section 3 of DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, as a result of this litigation.
BLAG, which is defending DOMA under the direction of House Speaker John Boehner, had filed a request with the Supreme Court in June asking justices to overturn the ruling and uphold the constitutionality of the anti-gay law.
In the 39-page brief filed Thursday, GLAD’s lawyers say they agree that “the arguments for a grant of review in this case are strong.” The plaintiffs also present the same question for the Supreme Court to answer as other petitions: does Section 3 of DOMA violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for legally married same-sex couples?
But GLAD and BLAG have wildly different conclusions on what the Supreme Court should determine with regard to this question. In its filing, GLAD says the court shouldn’t “be persuaded by the distorted analysis” put forward by BLAG, and, instead, affirm the First Circuit’s ruling.
“The Court should not be swayed by the arguments on the merits that BLAG chose to present in its petition,” GLAD writes, “[A]s multiple courts have recently recognized, there are compelling arguments that Congress violated the equal protection guarantee when it decided for the first time to deny all recognition to a single class of state-sanctioned marriages.”
GLAD notes BLAG devotes much of its petition to contending the First Circuit was “inventing” a new standard of review in its decision to overturn DOMA. Disputing this argument, GLAD says BLAG “does not accurately characterize the First Circuit’s holding or analysis” and the First Circuit had correctly applied rational basis holdings from earlier cases.
GLAD lays out several reasons why the First Circuit ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional, saying Congress could only have passed DOMA out of animus toward gay people.
“Whether animated by ‘moral disapproval’ toward gay men and lesbians, open hostility, ‘insensitivity’ to the lives of the people against whom they were discriminating, or simply a reaction against people who ‘appear[ed] to be different,’ Congress enacted a statute whose object was to subject gay men and lesbians to different, and less-favorable, treatment,” the brief states. “This Congress may not do.”
Additionally, GLAD says the Supreme Court should take up the case to establish that laws targeting gay Americans should be subject to heightened scrutiny, on the assumption that they’re unconstitutional.
“Because DOMA imposes indisputable de jure discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, this case presents an ideal vehicle for this Court to clarify how courts should scrutinize such laws going forward, and to ensure that lower courts afford gay men and lesbians the constitutional protections to which they are entitled under a proper application of the Equal Protection Clause,” the brief states.
The Obama administration announced it held the view that laws related to sexual orientation should be subjected to heightened scrutiny at the same time it announced it would no longer defend DOMA in court in February 2011. BLAG, under the direction of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) following a party-line vote, has since taken up defense of DOMA.
GLAD is now one of several groups asking the Supreme Court to examine the constitutionality of DOMA. The Justice Department has asked the high court to take up the Massachusetts case as well as a California lawsuit known as Golinski v. United States. Additionally, New York widower Edith Windsor has asked the Supreme Court to take up her lawsuit against DOMA filed by the American Civil Liberties Union as has New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a jointly filed friend-of-the-court brief.
The Supreme Court won’t decide whether it will take up DOMA until Sept. 24. The high court will begin hearing arguments for its 2012-2013 term in October.
In the meantime, Aug. 31 is the last day for BLAG to respond to or oppose the Justice Department’s petition, and Sept. 10 is the last day for the Justice Department to reply to BLAG. Additionally, BLAG can choose to reply to GLAD’s filing. There’s no set deadline for that, but normally, that would occur within 10 days.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
Congress
Ogles faces bipartisan backlash over anti-gay social media post
Tenn. congressman blamed the comment on staffer
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who represents Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, is facing backlash from LGBTQ advocates and fellow Republicans after a social media post declared that “homosexuality has no place in America.”
“Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month,” the congressman wrote in a post on X that was later deleted.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 6.3 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ.
Following widespread criticism, Ogles removed the post and blamed it on a staff member.
“The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded,” Ogles said in a statement.
The Washington Blade reached out to Ogles’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Among those condemning the message was U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who called it “absolutely idiotic” in a social media post.
“Homosexuality exists. In America,” Lawler wrote on X. “In fact, Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn’t make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also criticized Ogles’s remarks.
“For all of recorded history, homosexuals have been a part of humanity,” Cruz told TMZ DC. “I think the behavior of consenting adults is their business.”
Chris Sanders, the executive director for the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation provided a statement to the Blade about Ogles’s comment.
“The Tennessee Nuclear Family Month resolution has really backfired on conservatives by ensnaring Congressman Ogles in scandal. He used the resolution as a pretext to say that our community doesn’t belong in America, resulting in incredible backlash from across the partisan divide,” Sanders said. “It is a good opportunity for him to pause and reflect on whether it’s time for him to resign. Fighting one’s own constituents is not the purpose of serving in Congress.”
Human Rights Campaign Senior Press Secretary Jarred Keller provided a statement to the Blade regarding Ogles’s comments.
“LGBTQ+ people are woven into the fabric of America, and any politician who questions that is severely out of touch with reality. When so many people are worried about whether they can afford gas to get to work or groceries for their families, the last thing we need is right-wing Republicans targeting marginalized communities with hateful attacks,” Keller said. “Representative Ogles should spend less time attacking LGBTQ+ people and start addressing the issues that actually matter, because last I checked, our community isn’t the reason families are struggling to make ends meet.”
The controversy comes as Tennessee continues to advance legislation affecting LGBTQ residents. The state already has several laws on the books that LGBTQ advocates have criticized, including the Adult Entertainment Act, enacted in 2023, which restricts certain “adult cabaret performances.”
Lawmakers have also introduced additional measures this legislative session, including the “No Pride Flag or Month Act,” which would prohibit state employees, volunteers, and agents from displaying Pride flags or participating in Pride observances while acting in an official capacity.
Another proposal, the “Banning Bostock Act” would seek to limit the application of state anti-discrimination protections based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Tennessee lawmakers have also passed other measures restricting LGBTQ rights and access to gender-affirming health care.
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