Politics
Disney’s response to ‘Don’t Say Gay’ criticized as completely inadequate
The company has dismissed numerous calls and missed opportunities to articulate a public position on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill

BURBANK – The “Don’t Say Gay” bill faces mounting criticism as it continues to advance in the Florida Legislature and appears headed to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, but one company with strong business ties to the state — despite professing to support the LGBTQ community — has declined to denounce the legislation to the growing disappointment of its many fans.
Disney, the media conglomerate, generates more than $6 billion a year from its theme parks, including the popular Walt Disney World in Florida. The company issued a statement Friday in the face of growing calls to speak out, but the statement is being criticized for stopping short of criticizing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“We understand how important this issue is to our LGBTQ+ employees and many others,” the statement says. “For nearly a century, Disney has been a unifying force that brings people together. We are determined that it remains a place where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The biggest impact we can have in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create here and the diverse community organizations we support, including those representing the LGBTQ+ community.”
At the same time, Disney has promoted itself and its theme parks as supporters LGBTQ people, setting aside “Gay Days” for same-sex couples and families specifically to visit the park, as well as its LGBTQ employees. Last year, for example, Disney announced park visitors would be able to buy now-iconic hats with Mickey Mouse ears in rainbow colors, while employees would no longer be held to gender-binary rules on costuming, jewelry, hair, and nail colors.
For 15 consecutive years, Disney has obtained and promoted a perfect score of “100” on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual corporate index, which ranks businesses based on policies and practices for LGBTQ employees, such as workforce protections, partner benefits and transgender-inclusive health care benefits as well as public engagements with the LGBTQ community.
That’s why Disney’s refusal to denounce the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would bar Florida schools from “instruction” about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3 and otherwise not at “age-appropriate” levels, comes as a disappointment to many of the company’s fans. Alicia Stella, a video blogger for “Theme Park Stop” who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, is quoted in the Orlando Sentinel as saying Disney’s statement was worse than the company not saying anything at all.
“We wanted a statement from Disney because we want Disney to have our backs,” Stella reportedly said. “… It’s worse than a response. This is a non-response.”
The group Gen-Z for Change has gone so far as to issue a call on Twitter to boycott Disney in response to the company’s lackluster response to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, pointing out the company has made donations to lawmakers supporting the legislation.
“Disney has made it clear that they will not take action to protect the lives of LGBTQ+ youth, and will continue to fund the politicians that seek to oppress them and erase their identities,” the group says. “We are calling on people to #BoycottDisneyPlus until Disney decides to #StopFundingHate.”
Disney is one of the nation’s most recognizable companies and one of the top employers in Florida. In addition to being responsible for Disney characters, the company has under its umbrella of Walt Disney Studios major film-producers Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios. Disney also owns the ABC broadcast network and cable television networks such as Disney Channel and ESPN. Had the company denounced the “Don’t Say Gay” bill consistent with its message of supporting LGBTQ people, it would have sent a strong signal that might be a watershed moment in efforts to derail the legislation.
And yet the company has dismissed numerous calls and missed opportunities to articulate a public position on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. For example, in a joint statement out this week and organized by the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom for All Americans, more than 150 signatories were among the businesses denouncing anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida as measures that “single out LGBTQ individuals – many specifically targeting transgender youth – for exclusion or differential treatment,” but Disney isn’t among them.
Angela Darra, a spokesperson for Freedom for All Americans, said “we don’t have a relationship with Disney” in response to the Washington Blade’s inquiry last week on why the company was absent, adding she’s unsure if Disney has been approached yet or has a stance either way.
To be sure, the statement itself never explicitly identifies the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and speaks more generally about opposition to anti-LGBTQ legislation advancing in state legislatures. Darra told the Blade “Don’t Say Gay” isn’t enumerated because LGBTQ organizations “take the approach of releasing broader letters like this during state legislative sessions because we believe it is the most effective way to show support from businesses.
“They simply don’t have the capacity or bandwidth to run every individual bill up the corporate ladder for approvals,” Darra added. “I know it’s not ideal but there is a lot of process otherwise that would slow us down.”
The answer for why Disney hasn’t spoken out against the legislation may be the change in leadership. In a detailed article published last week, the Hollywood Reporter lays out how after the previous CEO Bob Iger took a stand on issues, including speaking out against President Trump’s travel ban on Muslim countries, the new CEO Bob Chapek has opted to take a hands-off approach.
“According to a source familiar with both Iger’s and Chapek’s thinking, Iger tended to speak out not only when issues affected the company’s business interests but when they affected its employees, now numbering about 195,000,” the article says. “But this person says Chapek has taken a narrower view and has been concerned that Disney might be viewed as too liberal.”
Other groups have explicitly called on Disney to speak out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Among them is AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which unveiled last week a 30-second ad that aired on local TV stations in Orlando and called on the company to denounce the legislation.
“Disney, where do you stand when we need you the most?” a female voiceover says in the ad. “The rights of families in Florida are under attack. The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is threatening our children’s security. It’s 2022. Kids need knowledge. Depriving them of this is wrong.”
A group of LGBTQ activists wrote a joint letter to Disney last week calling on the company to speak out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill as well as the Stop Woke Act against critical race theory and legislation restricting transition-related care for transgender youth.
“We understand Disney finds itself having to take public positions on many social issues but believe there is an opportunity to send a powerful signal that companies will not stand for the instrumentalization of LGBTQ+ rights for political purposes,” the letter says.
Signers of the letter aren’t leaders of major LGBTQ institutions, but individual activists and figures, including retired NBA player Jason Collins, former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), gay activist David Mixner and HIV activist Sean Strub as well as filmmakers Jason Moore and transgender activist Geena Rocero.
Fabrice Houdart, managing director of the LGBTQ group Out Leadership, organized the letter and told the Washington Blade Disney — as well as other major companies in Florida, such as the Miami Dolphins and the cruise line Royal Caribbean — have commercially engaged with LGBTQ people, including at Pride events, but “have not been present in the response” to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“So we wrote to the CEO of all those companies…saying, ‘Look, you know, if you are a friend of the community, then you have to do something,” Houdart said. “You cannot stay silent were this to be up for a vote in the Senate.”
Houdart said as of last week he had yet to hear anything in response to the letter, but hopes things would change as public pressure on Disney and other companies continues to intensify and corporations become more aware of the legislation.
“What I’m hoping is that internally, they are deciding whether they going to speak out or not,” Houdart said. “But, you know, what I really wanted to do is put them on notice that the community is aware, despite them saying that they are LGBT friendly, they have not taken a stand at the moment where, [it’s another fight against] stigmatization of the community.”
On Monday Disney CEO Chapek sent out a memo to staff;
Team,
Before getting to the heart of my message, I want to acknowledge all those impacted by the invasion of Ukraine, especially our team in Europe and our employees around the world who have family in the region. This is an unimaginably difficult time, and my thoughts are with you. I also want to thank the ABC News team covering the horrific events there. Their courage and dedication to informing the world during this crisis is exemplary.
On Friday, I met with a small group of Disney LGBTQ+ leaders to discuss controversial legislation pending in Florida that would impact their communities. I want to thank them for a meaningful, illuminating, and at times deeply moving conversation. I told the group I would write to the entire company with my thoughts on the issues we discussed. I wish every one of our employees could have heard not just the passionate voices in the room, but the bravery, honesty, and pride those voices expressed. It is a conversation I will not forget.
One common theme was disappointment that the company has not issued a public statement condemning the legislation. That disappointment was compounded by the fact that, while not perfect, our company has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community—and in fact, has played an important role in the personal journeys of so many of our employees.
I want to be crystal clear: I and the entire leadership team unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities. And, we are committed to creating a more inclusive company—and world. I understand that the very need to reiterate that commitment means we still have more work to do.
I also believe you deserve an explanation for why we have not issued a statement. We are going to have a more fulsome conversation about this at the company-wide Reimagine Tomorrow Summit in April, but I will preview that discussion now as it is so timely.
As we have seen time and again, corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds. Instead, they are often weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame. Simply put, they can be counterproductive and undermine more effective ways to achieve change.
I do not want anyone to mistake a lack of a statement for a lack of support. We all share the same goal of a more tolerant, respectful world. Where we may differ is in the tactics to get there. And because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state, I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support.
There’s a reason content is at the top of this list. For nearly a century, our company’s stories have opened minds, inspired dreams, shown the world both as it is and how we wish it could be, and now more than ever before, represent the incredible diversity of our society. We are telling important stories, raising voices, and I believe, changing hearts and minds.
Encanto, Black Panther, Pose, Reservation Dogs, Coco, Soul, Modern Family, Shang-Chi, Summer of Soul, Love, Victor. These and all of our diverse stories are our corporate statements—and they are more powerful than any tweet or lobbying effort. I firmly believe that our ability to tell such stories—and have them received with open eyes, ears, and hearts—would be diminished if our company were to become a political football in any debate.
Powerful content that changes hearts and minds only springs from inclusive cultures, which not only attract and retain the best and most diverse talent, but also give those employees the freedom to bring forth ideas that reflect their lives and experiences. We must work together to ensure Disney always remains such a place.
In terms of our communities, we are and will continue to be a leader in supporting organizations that champion diversity. In 2021, we provided nearly $3 million to support the work of LGBTQ+ organizations. And, we have a long history of supporting important events like Pride parades, and for being there in times of need, just as we were following the Pulse shooting in Orlando. All this is why we have earned a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign for 16 years in a row.
Finally, I want to address concerns about our political contributions in Florida. While we have not given money to any politician based on this issue, we have contributed to both Republican and Democrat legislators who have subsequently taken positions on both sides of the legislation. I can also share that Geoff Morrell, our new Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, will be reassessing our advocacy strategies around the world—including political giving—as he begins to integrate the communications, public policy, government relations and CSR teams.
Our company has been a force for inclusion for a long time—and that will not change on my watch. We all have a role to play in this effort—from the Cast Members who make magical memories for fans and families of all kinds, to storytellers who take audiences on journeys to new storyworlds that illuminate our own, to everyone in between who is responsible for ensuring our culture lives up to our values. I hope we will all continue rowing in the direction of a better tomorrow.
State Department
State Department’s 2024 human rights report could jeopardize LGBTQ+ asylum cases
‘Targeted and malicious act’ will ‘directly endanger lives’

Advocacy groups say the State Department’s 2024 human rights report that “erased” LGBTQ+ people will jeopardize the cases of those who are seeking asylum in the U.S.
Immigration Equality notes the report “serve as key evidence for asylum seekers, attorneys, judges, and advocates who rely on them to assess human rights conditions and protection claims worldwide.”
The 2024 report the State Department released on Aug. 12 did not include LGBTQ+-specific references. Immigration Equality Director of Law and Policy Bridget Crawford in a statement said country-specific reports within the larger report “should be accurate, fact-based, and reflect the lived reality of LGBTQ people — not ignore and actively hide it.”
“When adjudicators see less information in these reports than in prior years, they may wrongly assume conditions have improved,” said Crawford. “In truth, the absence of reporting is a purely political move, not based in fact or reality.”
Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration Executive Director Steve Roth in a statement condemned the Trump-Vance administration’s “deliberate erasure of LGBTIQ communities from the 2024 human rights report — an unprecedented move that violates international standards.”
“This is a targeted and malicious act that will directly endanger lives,” he said.
Roth, like Immigration Equality, noted courts “around the world rely on these reports to evaluate asylum claims.”
“Stripping out documentation of LGBTIQ persecution removes a vital tool in assessing claims for protection, jeopardizing the ability of LGBTIQ asylum seekers to access safety,” said Roth.
Congress requires the State Department to release a human rights report each year.
The State Department usually releases them in the spring, as opposed to August. Then-State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who president Donald Trump has nominated to become deputy representative at the U.N., during her last press briefing on Aug. 12 defended the delay and the report itself.
“We weren’t going to release something compiled and written by the previous administration,” said Bruce. “It needed to change based on the point of view and the vision of the Trump administration, and so those changes were made.”
Asylum courts ‘will have less credible data to rely on’
Jessica Stern, the former special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights under the Biden-Harris administration, co-founded the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice with several other former State Department officials.
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice in response to the report said the U.S. has “betrayed the trust of human rights defenders who risked their safety to share the truth” and added “some (of them) are now less safe.”
“Asylum courts in the U.S. and globally will have less credible data to rely on,” said the group.
Human Rights Watch echoed the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice.
“The human rights report has been used in U.S. asylum court cases to show that an asylum seeker could not be returned to a country where similarly situated people were being persecuted,” said Human Rights Watch in response to the 2024 report. “That essential resource for keeping people safe is not only no longer reliable or helpful, but in some cases could put people at risk by denying abuses in places where the United States or other countries intend to deport asylum seekers and immigrants.”
State Department
LGBTQ people ‘erased’ from State Department’s 2024 human rights report
Document released Tuesday after months of delay

Advocacy groups on Tuesday sharply criticized the removal LGBTQ-specific references from the State Department’s 2024 human rights report.
The report, which the State Department released on Tuesday, does not reference Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Law and the impact it has had on the country’s LGBTQ community since President Yoweri Museveni signed it in 2023. The report, however, does note Ugandan government officials “reportedly committed acts of sexual violence.”
“NGOs reported police medical staff subjected at least 15 persons to forced anal examinations following their arrests,” it reads. “Opposition protesters stated security forces used or threatened to use forced anal examinations during interrogations.”
Uganda is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized. Authorities in the African country often use so-called anal tests to determine whether someone has engaged in homosexuality.
The report does not mention that Brazil has the highest number of reported murders of transgender people in the world. It does, however, note the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2024 “undermined democratic debate by restricting access to online content deemed to ‘undermine democracy,’ disproportionately suppressing the speech of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro as well as journalists and elected politicians, often in secret proceedings that lacked due process guarantees.”
The report says there “were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in Hungary in 2024, even though Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government continued its anti-LGBTQ rights crackdown. The report does note Russian authorities last year “invoked a law prohibiting the distribution of ‘propaganda on nontraditional sexual relations’ to children.”
The State Department’s 2023 human rights report specifically notes a Russian law “prohibited gender transition procedures and gender-affirming care … and authorities used laws prohibiting the promotion of ‘non-traditional sexual relations’ to justify the arbitrary arrest of LGBTQI+ persons.” The 2023 report also cites reports that “state actors committed violence against LGBTQI+ individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, particularly in Chechnya” and “government agents attacked, harassed, and threatened LGBTQI+ activists.”
“There were instances of non-state actor violence targeting LGBTQI+ persons and of police often failing to respond adequately to such incidents,” it adds.
The 2024 report does not mention Thai lawmakers last year approved a bill that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. Gays and lesbians began to legally marry in the country in January.
Jessica Stern, the former special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights under the Biden-Harris administration who co-founded the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday said she and her colleagues “expected (the report) to be bad.”
“When we saw what the administration released, the truth is we were shocked and horrified,” said Stern.
Stern added the Trump-Vance administration “has erased or watered-down entire categories of abuse against people of African descent, indigenous people, Roma people, members of other marginalized racial and ethnic communities, workers, women and girls, and LGBTQI+ people.”
“It is deliberate erasure,” said Stern.

The Council for Global Equality in a statement condemned “the drastic restructuring and glaring omission of violence and abuse targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) persons in the U.S.”
“We denounce the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize the State Department’s annual human rights reports by stripping longstanding references to human rights abuses targeting LGBTQI+ and other marginalized groups,” said Mark Bromley, the group’s co-chair.
Gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, echoed Bromley and Stern.
“Omitting the persecution of LGBTQI+ people from the human rights reports doesn’t erase the abuse, violence, and criminalization our community is facing around the world — it condones it,” said Takano in a statement.
“Erasing our community from these reports makes it that much harder for human rights advocates, the press, and the American people to be aware of the abuses LGBTQI+ people are facing worldwide,” he added.
Congress requires the State Department to release a human rights report each year. Foggy Bottom usually releases it in the spring.
Politico in March reported the Trump-Vance administration planned to cut “sections about the rights of women, the disabled, the LGBTQ+ community, and more” from the human rights report. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who President Donald Trump has nominated to become deputy representative at the U.N., on Tuesday during her last press briefing defended the report and the delay in releasing it.
“We weren’t going to release something compiled and written by the previous administration,” said Bruce. “It needed to change based on the point of view and the vision of the Trump administration, and so those changes were made.”
“It certainly promotes, as does our work, a respect for human rights around the globe,” added the former Fox News contributor who has described herself as a “gay woman.”
The Council for Global Equality and Democracy Forward has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. A press release notes it is “seeking the release of additional information … including any instructions provided by political appointees to strip references to abuses against LGBTQI+ persons from the reports.”
“The reports make LGBTQI+ persons and other minorities invisible and, in so doing, they undermine the human rights landscape that protects all of us,” said Bromley.
“Erasing our community from these reports makes it that much harder for human rights advocates, the press, and the American people to be aware of the abuses LGBTQI+ people are facing worldwide,” added Takano. “Failing to rectify this censorship will have real — and potentially deadly — consequences for LGBTQI+ people, including both for those who travel abroad from the U.S. and for LGBTQI+ people in countries whose leadership no longer need to worry about consequences for their human rights abuses. The State Department must reverse course and restore the LGBTQI+ section to these reports.”
A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Blade the “information included in the 2024 reports has been restructured and streamlined for better utility and accessibility, and to be more responsive to the legislative mandate for the (human rights report.)”
“The result directly addresses the reporting requirements as laid out in statute as well as being more streamlined, objective, universal, and accessible to the American public,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson did not comment on the FOIA lawsuit the Council for Global Equality and Democracy Forward has filed.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday announced it will ensure “male aliens seeking immigration benefits aren’t coming to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports.”
The announcement notes USCIS “has clarified eligibility for certain visa categories: O-1A aliens of extraordinary ability, E11 aliens of extraordinary ability, E21 aliens of exceptional ability, and for national interest waivers (NIWs), to guarantee an even playing field for all women’s athletics in the United States.” The new policy comes roughly six months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that bans transgender women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
“Men do not belong in women’s sports. USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women,” said USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser. “It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports.”
“The Trump administration is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense,” added Tragesser.
USCIS in April announced it will only recognize “two biological sexes, male and female.” Trump shortly after he took office for a second time on Jan. 20 signed the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last month banned trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.
The Guardian earlier this year reported the State Department ordered consular officials “to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to come to the U.S. for sports competitions, and to issue permanent visa bans against those who are deemed to misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications.”
Germany and Denmark are among the countries that have issued travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who are planning to visit the U.S. The warnings specifically note the Trump-Vance administration has banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.
“This policy update clarifies that USCIS considers the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women as a negative factor in determining whether the alien is among the small percentage at the very top of the field,” reads the USCIS announcement. “USCIS does not consider a male athlete who has gained acclaim in men’s sports and seeks to compete in women’s sports in the United States to be seeking to continue work in his area of extraordinary ability; male athletes seeking to enter the country to compete in women’s sports do not substantially benefit the United States; and it is not in the national interest to the United States to waive the job offer and, thus, the labor certification requirement for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in women’s sports.”
The new USCIS guidance takes effect immediately.
California Politics
How Triston Ezidore became the first gay, Black board member in Culver City at 19 years old, making history—twice!
At 19, Ezidore felt like it was his responsibility to track the educational movements in the Culver City Unified a bit more closely

While most teenagers are busy playing video games, Triston Ezidore was busy making history.
From high school student to school board member for the Board of Education in Culver City, Ezidore talks with the LA Blade about his unconventional entry into politics with influence from George Floyd’s death and the COVID-19 pandemic, and how he made history twice while he was still a teenager.
In 2021, most of us were still at home and many people unemployed, out of school, caring for loved ones or just merely surviving the pandemic shutdowns and peak infections caused by COVID-19. During this time, many high school students lost valuable time in the classroom, being cut off from celebrating and socializing with their peers. Young Ezidore, rose above that—and more—achieving new milestones within his family and within the entire board of education in Culver City, bringing representation to queer, trans and communities of color.
Shortly after graduation, Ezidore headed to Syracuse University and from afar, he continued to tune into the Culver City school board meetings to track the progress he had made during his time as student body president in high school.
“I was still kind of watching, tuning into everything that was going on in Culver City and we knew that in order to get [the progress] right, we had to have a spotlight over the implementation,” said Ezidore.
It was during this time, that he noticed that all the progress he tried to implement during his time there, was not being implemented correctly, so he felt like it was his responsibility to track the movements a little more closely.
This is when he made the decision to return home and enroll at University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences—where he simultaneously launched his campaign for a seat on the Culver City Unified School District Board of Education.
In 2022—just one year after graduating high school—he won one of three open seats, becoming the youngest elected official in Los Angeles County at 19 years old. Then in 2023, he was elected to serve as School Board Vice President—making history as the first Black, gay man in that position as a teenager.
Though his journey into politics is “unconventional” as he puts it, Ezidore says he was radicalized to go into politics because of George Floyd’s death and the inequities made incredibly obvious by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ezidore says that being the child of immigrants also inspired him to ultimately look into politics to gain a better understanding of how his perspective can be helpful towards other people’s experiences and educational goals.
His mother was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States after the fall of Saigon, which was the end of the Vietnam war that lasted from 1955 to 1975. Ezidore’s father is from Jamaica, so that gives Ezidore a unique perspective into the challenges and unique obstacles that many students face during their K-12 education.
Ezidore also identifies as gay and has been out since he was 18 years old.
“I find myself identifying as a gay, Black man, and I know that under this administration specifically, there has been an obsession with LGBTQ people and trans people in education,” said Ezidore. “I think historically our [education] system has not supported Black boys in education as a whole, so I find myself often pulling or tapping into those aspects of my identity.”
As a proud, gay, Black man, he felt that it was necessary to implement actual structures to support the most neglected demographic of the education system.
“We instituted the Black Student Achievement Plan that called for specific action goals to implement or to increase achievement,” said Ezidore.
This plan created mentorship and internship opportunities, a Black student council, a Black affinity group graduation and uplifted students in achieving their goals. During that time, former governor Jerry Brown stated that school districts should implement a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LACP). The plan serves as a tool to improve student outcomes with a roadmap that tracks and sets goals and plan actions, and leverages resources to guide students who were foster youth, low-income and English-learners.
“I don’t know that [Trump] is going to withhold the funding, but to me, I don’t know if I could sleep at night if I let him dictate these [educational] outcomes for the students in Culver City,” he said.
The latest update from the Supreme Court is that Trump is allowed to continue dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, worrying scholars throughout the country, with many saying that without an injunction, much of the damage can be irreversible. The Department of Education has already experienced the slashing of over 1,400 jobs and will continue to see more funding cuts due to the Reduction in Force (RIF) plan, implementing Trump’s Executive Order, which he claims will improve education and families by returning education authority to individual states.
Congress
White House finds Calif. violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes in school sports
Education Department threatens ‘imminent enforcement action’

The Trump-Vance administration announced on Wednesday that California’s Interscholastic Federation and Department of Education violated federal Title IX rules for allowing transgender girls to compete in school sports.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights threatened “imminent enforcement action” including “referral to the U.S. Department of Justice” and the withholding of federal education funding for the state if the parties do not “agree to change these unlawful practices within 10 days.”
The agency specified that to come into compliance; California must enforce a ban excluding transgender student athletes and reclaim any titles, records, and awards they had won.
Federal investigations of the California Interscholastic Federation and the state’s Department of Education were begun in February and April, respectively. The Justice Department sued Maine in April for allowing trans athletes to compete and refusing a similar proposal to certify compliance within 10 days.
Broadly, the Trump-Vance administration’s position is that girls who are made to compete against trans opponents or alongside trans teammates are unfairly disadvantaged, robbed of opportunities like athletics scholarships, and faced with increased risk of injury — constituting actionable claims of unlawful sex discrimination under Title IX.
This marks a major departure from how the previous administration enforced the law. For example, the Department of Education issued new Title IX guidelines in April 2024 that instructed schools and educational institutions covered by the statute to not enforce categorical bans against trans athletes, instead allowing for limited restrictions on eligibility if necessary to ensure fairness or safety at the high school or college level.
Sports aside, 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.
A number of high profile Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have recently questioned or challenged the party’s position on transgender athletes, as noted in a statement by Education Secretary Linda McMahon included in Wednesday’s announcement.
“Although Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions.”
Congress
Garcia elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee
Gay Calif. lawmaker vows to hold Trump-Vance administration accountable

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Tuesday was elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in a vote that signaled the conference’s overwhelming support for a newer voice on Capitol Hill who will play a key role taking on President Donald Trump.
With a margin of 150-63, the 47-year-old openly gay congressman defeated U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), alongside U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) who exited the race after the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee backed Garcia.
Serving only since 2023, the congressman has had a remarkably quick ascent leading up to his election this week as ranking member of one of the most powerful House committees, awarded a leadership position serving under House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and selected as a co-chair of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Democratic members began jockeying for the top seat on the oversight committee this spring after the late-U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia stepped away amid news that his esophageal cancer had returned. He died in May.
Connolly last year fended off a challenge from one of the most well known House Democrats, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), though with a narrower margin that signaled intra-party tensions over whether leadership roles should still be awarded based on seniority.
Garcia positioned himself as a bridge between the two camps — a consensus candidate with executive managerial experience as the former mayor of Long Beach. At the same time, particularly since the start of Trump’s second term, the congressman has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the new Republican regime.
In a statement on X Tuesday, Garcia thanked his colleagues and promised to “hold Donald Trump and his administration accountable.”
I'm honored to have been elected by @HouseDemocrats to serve as Ranking Member on @OversightDems.
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) June 24, 2025
We will hold Donald Trump and his Administration accountable for their corruption – and work to make our government more effective for the American people.
Let's get to work.
If Democrats win control of the House next year, the oversight committee will be able to exercise powers that are now available only to Republicans under the chair, U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), which include the authority to investigate virtually any matter across the federal government, to issue subpoenas, and to compel testimony.
In the meantime, Garcia on Monday promised that Democrats on the committee would “vigorously fight” Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s (La.) plans “to dismantle the Government Accountability Office.”
Congress
Padilla forcibly removed from federal building for questioning DHS secretary
Prominent Democrats rushed to defend senator

Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a federal building in Los Angeles after attempting to ask questions of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference on immigration Thursday
The city has been rattled in recent days as protestors objecting to the Trump-Vance administration’s immigration crackdowns clashed with law enforcement and then the president deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines, which was seen as a dramatic escalation.
According to a video shared by his office, the senator, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, introduced himself and said, I have questions for the secretary.” After he was pushed out of the room, officers with FBI-identifying vests told Padilla to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
“Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California,” reads a statement from his office.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the statement continued. “He tried to ask the secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”
Democrats were furious, with many releasing strong statements online condemning the actions of law enforcement officers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), and the state’s other U.S. senator, Adam Schiff (D).
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown also issued a statement: “A sitting U.S. senator should be allowed to ask a Cabinet secretary a question at a press conference — in his own state, on an issue affecting his constituents — without being violently thrown to the floor and handcuffed. Everyone who cares about our country must condemn this undemocratic act. Full stop.”
Congress
51 lawmakers sign letter to Rubio about Andry Hernández Romero
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) spoke about gay Venezuelan asylum seeker

Forty nine members of Congress and two U.S. senators, all Democrats, signed a letter Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding information about Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan national who was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned in the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT
“We are deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of Mr. Hernández Romero, who left Venezuela after experiencing discriminatory treatment because of his sexual orientation and opposition to Venezuela’s authoritarian government,” the lawmakers wrote. They urged the State Department to facilitate his access to legal counsel and take steps to return him.
After passing a credible fear interview and while awaiting a court hearing in March, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly transported Hernández out of the U.S. without due process or providing evidence that he had committed any crime.
In the months since, pressure has been mounting. This past WorldPride weekend in Washington was kicked off with a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and a fundraiser, both supporting Hernández and attended by high profile figures including members of Congress, like U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was among the four members who wrote to Rubio about Hernández in April. On Friday, he spoke with the Los Angeles Blade before he and his colleagues, many more of them this time, sent the second letter to Rubio.
“There’s a lot of obviously horrible things that are happening with the asylum process and visas and international students and just the whole of our value system as it relates to immigration,” he said, which “obviously, is under attack.”
“Andry’s case, I think, is very unique and different,” the congressman continued. “There is, right now, public support that is building. I think he has captured people’s attention. And it’s growing — this is a movement that is not slowing down. He’s going to be a focal point for Pride this year. I mean, I think people around the world are interested in the story.”
Garcia said he hopes the momentum will translate to progress on requests for proof of life, adding that he was optimistic after meeting with Hernández’s legal team earlier on Friday.
“I mean, the president, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio — any of these folks could could ask to see if just he’s alive,” the congressman said, referring to the secretary of Homeland Security, whom he grilled during a hearing last month. ICE is housed under the DHS.
“People need to remember, the most important part of this that people need to remember, this isn’t just an immigration issue,” Garcia noted. “This is a due process issue. This is an asylum case. We gave him this appointment. The United States government told him to come to his appointment, and then we sent him to another country, not his own, and locked him up with no due process. That’s the issue.”
Garcia said that so far neither he nor his colleagues nor Hernández’s legal team were able to get “any answers from the administration, which is why we’re continuing to advocate, which is why we’re continuing to reach out to Secretary Rubio.”
“A lot more Democrats are now engaged on this issue,” he said. U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both from California, joined Monday’s letter. “The more that we can get folks to understand how critical this is, the better. The momentum matters here. And I think Pride does provide an opportunity to share his story.”
Asked what the next steps might be, Garcia said “we’re letting his legal team really take the lead on strategy,” noting that Hernández’s attorneys have “already engaged with the ACLU” and adding, “It’s very possible that the Supreme Court could take this on.”
In the meantime, the congressman said “part of our job is to make sure that that people don’t forget Andry and that there is awareness about him, and I think there’s a responsibility, particularly during WorldPride, and during Pride, all throughout the month — like, this is a story that people should know. People should know his name and and people should be aware of what’s going on.”
Breaking News
Controversy brews in the City of Glendale over support of Pride event
Republican Mayor Ara Najarian pushes back on funding family-friendly Pride event

Over the last three weeks, glendaleOUT — a local LGBTQ group based in Glendale, California and city leadership have been at odds over securing financial support of a family-friendly Pride event set to happen on Saturday, June 7. As of Tuesday, Glendale’s city council voted 3-2 in favor of funding the event, ending a weeks-long argument over securing the funds.
The controversy began when the group highlighted how neighboring cities have visibly demonstrated support for Pride Month celebrations across the county, while the City of Glendale has yet to sponsor events with banners, city logos and financial sponsorship.
Councilmember Dan Brotman proposed $5,000 in sponsorship funds, noting that the city has funded other cultural events with much larger amounts.
Local leaders, but specifically Mayor Ara Najarian — who was just re-elected for a fifth term — are pushing back and opposing the proposal for funding. According to sources, Mayor Najarian openly opposed the proposal, stating a distant conflict of interest as the reason for the opposition.
LGBTQ advocates have been quoted as saying this is a “bad-faith political tactic, not grounded in any real conflict of interest.”
The next potential vote is expected to happen today at a city council meeting. Organizers say that the Pride event will happen regardless, but that they still hope to shed light on the patterns of sexual orientation-based discrimination in the city council.
For more information about the free community Pride event, visit glendaleOUT’s website.
California
LA County officially kicks off Pride Month with blessing from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
‘This needs to be done, because once again, our county and our nation houses people who want us gone, who wish us harm’

The LA County Board of Supervisors and the LA County LGBTQ+ Committee gathered on Tuesday, June 3, to officially kick off Pride Month across the county with a blessing from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who purified the space with their sacred chicken, then led everyone in blessing the Progress Pride flag before raising it at the Kenneth Hall of Administration.
“By raising this flag, the emblem of our souls and of our souls, of our love, of our survival, and of the gifts we offer to every Angeleno in this county — you all declare and you declare to everyone both here and abroad, that we are your people and you affirm that this is our home too,” said Sister Unity. “This needs to be done, because once again, our county and our nation houses people who want us gone, who wish us harm.”

LA County Supervisors and other community leaders gathered on Tuesday at the Kenneth Hall of Administration to raise the Progress Pride flag in honor of Pride Month. (Photo credit to Diandra Jay)
Supervisors Janice Hanh, Holly J. Mitchell, Lindsey P. Hovarth and Hilda L. Solis spoke on the importance of representation in the face of discrimination, homophobia and transphobia.
Supervisor Hahn mentioned in her speech that her father, Kenneth Frederick Hahn designed the LA County flag and it was clear to her that he believed that a flag was more than just a piece of fabric.
“My dad, the original Supervisor Hanh, designed the LA County flag and he understood that a flag is not just fabric. A flag is a symbol. It’s a visual representation of who we are, what we value and what we stand for.”
Two years ago, Supervisor Hahn started the tradition to raise the flag alongside the one her father designed and then it was Supervisor Horvath who suggested that the Pride flag be flown on all county facilities across Los Angeles.
“Now, in every corner of our vast county — from our lifeguard stations on our beaches, to every library, fire station — and may I add: all eight county buildings in the city of Downey. Wherever there is a county facility, the Progress Pride flag will send a clear, powerful message to our LGBTQ residents: ‘your county government unequivocally and unapologetically has your back.’”
The comment about the city of Downey is in regards to a controversial Pride flag ban that was enacted last year.
Supervisor Hahn then introduced LA County Assessor Jeff Prang, one of the longest-serving, out, elected officials in the state of California. Due to his long history in government and as a member of the LGBTQ community, Assessor Prang helped launch the LA County LGBTQ Elected Officials Association with over 50 active members from all levels of government.
“We are in a moment of crisis in the nation. Across the country, an extremist movement is working to dismantle LGBTQ rights — from banning books to criminalizing gender-affirming care, to silencing drag performers, to targeting our youth and families with cruelty disguised as policy,” said Assessor Prang. “These are not isolated incidents, this is a campaign of fear and repression.”
Héctor Trinidad-Plascencia, the Chair of LGBTQ+ Commission, encouraged attendees who are not from the queer and trans communities, to remove the blockages that keep them from being in solidarity with queer and trans people.
“With your solidarity, we are creating a different world together starting in our county home and for the nation to follow,” they said.
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