National
Lesbian guardsman who fought DOMA dies of cancer
Morgan was plaintiff in litigation against anti-gay law


Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan died of cancer Sunday morning (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A lesbian member of the New Hampshire National Guard who fought the Defense of Marriage Act while battling incurable cancer finally succumbed to the disease early Sunday morning.
Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan died at age 48 after fighting not only cancer, but working on behalf of LGBT rights as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against DOMA and an outspoken activist in favor of marriage equality. The LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN announced the news of her death on Sunday.
Calling Morgan a “courageous fighter,” Allyson Robinson, executive director of OutServe-SLDN, thanked those in a statement who had supported Morgan as well as her spouse Karen Morgan and daughter Casey Elena.
“She made an indelible mark on everyone she met with her integrity, her positive outlook, and her unflinching commitment to righting the wrongs visited upon gay and lesbian military families,” Robinson said. “The fight for full LGBT equality in this country is forever changed because Charlie Morgan took up the cause.”
In September 2011, Morgan was diagnosed with stage-four incurable breast cancer. After being first diagnosed with the disease in 2008 and undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, Morgan was declared cancer-free and was deployed to Kuwait, but was later informed her cancer had returned and had to undergo further treatment.
One of the service members plaintiffs in OutServe-SLDN’s litigation against DOMA known as McLaughlin v. Panetta, Morgan had met with staff of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in February 2012 to encourage him to discontinue House Republican defense of the anti-gay law.
During a Washington Blade interview following the meeting at the time, Morgan said she wasn’t afraid to die, but told Boehner’s staff she wanted DOMA stricken from the books to ensure upon her death her spouse would be able to receive pension benefits given to straight counterparts in the U.S. military. The anti-gay law prohibits those pension benefits from flowing to same-sex spouses of troops as well as Social Security death benefits.
“I’m very worried about the military survivor benefits for Karen if I don’t survive this bout with cancer,” Morgan told the Blade. “I explained to her that I wasn’t afraid to die, but I was worried that Karen would not receive the same spousal survivor benefits as our heterosexual counterparts.”
While DOMA prohibits gay service members from receiving health and pension benefits, the Pentagon could extend administratively at any time other partner benefits to gay troops, such as military IDs, joint duty assignments, housing and access to family programs. However, the Defense Department has taken no action.
Morgan publicly came out as a lesbian during an interview on MSNBC on Sept. 20, 2011 — the day that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was lifted — a law that had previously barred her from open service.
In addition to her efforts against DOMA, Morgan was among those who testified in Minneapolis, Minn, before the 15-member Democratic Party platform drafting committee in favor of including a marriage equality plank in the document. The panel ultimately decided to include the language in the platform.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the first U.S. senator to call for marriage equality in the Democratic platform and co-sposnor of legislation to repeal DOMA, issued a statement upon Morgan’s death thanking the service member for her work.
“Charlie Morgan epitomized courage — in her military service, her fight for LGBT equality, and her battle with cancer,” Shaheen said. “She showed us how to live and to die with dignity. I am honored I got to know Charlie and my heart goes out to her wife Karen, her daughter Casey [Elena] and her entire family.”
Additionally, Morgan was selected to lead the Pledge of Allegiance during the inauguration ceremony on Jan. 3 for New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who was elected to office after campaigning on upholding the marriage equality law in her state.
In a statement, Hassan said she and her husband were “deeply saddened” to learn about Morgan’s death, but predicted her efforts against DOMA wouldn’t be in vain.
“A dedicated soldier, wife and mother, her service and sacrifice exemplify what makes America and New Hampshire strong.” Hassan said. “Her fight for equality will outlive her fight against cancer. We can and should honor Charlie’s legacy by continuing her fight to ensure that all families are treated equally by the State of New Hampshire and by the federal government.”
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.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
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