WASHINGTON — LGBT advocates will meet with White House officials Thursday afternoon to discuss the federal contractor executive order announced Monday.
The Thursday meeting, first noted in a Politico report, will involve discussions about the planned executive order, as well as the ongoing implementation of the Windsor Supreme Court decision striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act. BuzzFeed obtained a copy of the email sent to invited guests, which was sent Monday.
Among the key questions unresolved with the announcement is the scope of any religious exemption to be contained in the executive order. In recent weeks, some LGBT organizations and activists — including the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Transgender Law Center — have announced their opposition to the Senate-passed version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because of the scope of its religious exemption. It is still unclear how that debate and the pending Hobby Lobby case before the Supreme Court will figure into consideration of any religious exemption in the executive order.
In the announcement, the White House gave no timing on when Obama will sign the executive order, which is expected to amend or be modeled after an existing executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Obama, for his part, is expected to give his first comments about the executive order plans in a speech Tuesday evening in New York City at the Democratic National Committee's LGBT gala.
Politico's earlier report on the planned meeting is now included in the story.
A White House official confirmed to BuzzFeed that the White House Office of Public Engagement is planning to meet with LGBT advocates on Thursday. No further information was provided about the attendees.