National
Obama affirms LGBT support during Barnard address
President joins Freedom to Marry’s Wolfson on stage

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama reaffirmed his support of LGBT rights during Barnard College’s commencement address on Monday.
“No matter who you love or what God you love, you can still pursue your own happiness,” he told the nearly 600 graduates who gathered on Columbia University’s South Lawn after referencing the 1969 Stonewall riots. “I will be with you every step of the way.”
Obama joined Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson on stage less than a week after he announced his support for marriage equality during a White House interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts. Barnard also honored Care USA President Helene D. Gayle and chemistry professor Sally Chapman during the ceremony.
Retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye described Wolfson as a “hero for the charge of marriage equality” and a “champion for the cause of civil rights for all” before she presented Wolfson with Barnard’s Medal of Distinction.
“You have turned a once lonely march into a surging national movement,” she said to sustained applause. She further noted that the number of Americans who live in jurisdictions that allow nuptials for gays and lesbians more than doubled last June after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state’s marriage equality bill into law. “The momentum in the direction of your dream Evan is positively undeniable. Today we hail your extraordinary influence and limitless commitment to every loving man and woman.”
Wolfson referenced the president’s own words after the speech.
“It was a proud moment to share the stage with the president of the United States as he traced the arc of America’s civil rights history from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, encouraging the next generation to get engaged in the great work at hand of building a more perfect union and making a difference in the lives of others,” Wolfson told the Blade. “To stand before the women graduates and receive the Barnard Medal of Distinction alongside the president, presented by the great Judge Judith Kaye, in a week that the president embraced the freedom to marry, was the honor of a lifetime.”
Obama, whose sister Maya Soetoro-Ng graduated from Barnard, delivered the college’s commencement address before he taped an appearance on “The View” that will air on Tuesday. The president attended two re-election campaign fundraisers—including one that gay singer Ricky Martin hosted in Chelsea—before returning to Washington, D.C.
In a related development, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reaffirmed his opposition to marriage for same-sex couples during a speech to Liberty University graduates on Saturday.
A USA Today/Gallup poll released late on Friday indicated that Obama’s support of marriage for gays and lesbians will not influence how the majority of Americans vote in November. Sixty-five percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans who responded to the survey said the president’s position does not make them more or less likely to vote for him. The poll further noted that 74 percent of Republicans oppose Obama’s endorsement of nuptials for gays and lesbians, compared to only 25 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of independents.
Gay New York State Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell (D-Manhattan), who attended the Barnard speech, told the Blade after the commencement that the address “is another articulation by this administration that they view me and people like me as full Americans.” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand agreed.
“President Obama couldn’t have said it better when he encouraged the students to fight for their seat at the head of the table,” she told the Blade in a statement. “When we have women at decision making tables in politics and business the outcomes are simply better.”

President Barack Obama delivers Barnard College’s commencement address on May 14. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson stands alongside retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye during Barnard College’s commencement on May 14. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports
27 states have passed laws limiting participation in athletics programs

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear two cases involving transgender youth challenging bans prohibiting them from participating in school sports.
In Little v. Hecox, plaintiffs represented by the ACLU, Legal Voice, and the law firm Cooley are challenging Idaho’s 2020 ban, which requires sex testing to adjudicate questions of an athlete’s eligibility.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals described the process in a 2023 decision halting the policy’s enforcement pending an outcome in the litigation. The “sex dispute verification process, whereby any individual can ‘dispute’ the sex of any female student athlete in the state of Idaho,” the court wrote, would “require her to undergo intrusive medical procedures to verify her sex, including gynecological exams.”
In West Virginia v. B.P.J., Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Cooley are representing a trans middle school student challenging the Mountain State’s 2021 ban on trans athletes.
The plaintiff was participating in cross country when the law was passed, taking puberty blockers that would have significantly reduced the chances that she could have a physiological advantage over cisgender peers.
“Like any other educational program, school athletic programs should be accessible for everyone regardless of their sex or transgender status,” said Joshua Block, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project. “Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do — to learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and to simply have fun with their friends,” Block said.
He added, “Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth. We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play.”
“Our client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers,” said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli. “Everyone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization, and myriad other benefits.”
Borelli continued, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling allowing B.P.J. to continue participating in track events. That well-reasoned decision should stand the test of time, and we stand ready to defend it.”
Shortly after taking control of both legislative chambers, Republican members of Congress tried — unsuccessfully — to pass a national ban like those now enforced in 27 states since 2020.
Federal Government
UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House
University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”
The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.
“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”
Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”
Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”
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.
The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”