National
LGBT non-discrimination rules proposed for housing
Obama administration vows strict enforcement in federal programs
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a new rule Thursday that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federally funded and federally regulated housing programs.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, speaking on behalf of President Obama, said the sweeping new rule would cover a wide range of programs serving millions of Americans, including low-income subsidized housing and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance programs.
“This is a fundamental issue of fairness,” Donovan said. “With this proposed rule, we will make clear that a person’s eligibility for federal housing programs is, and should be, based on their need and not on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
HUD officials said that under standard rulemaking procedures, the proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register and open for public comment during a 60-day comment period. After that, the administration expects to finalize and fine-tune the rule and put it into effect, HUD officials said.
In a statement released Thursday, HUD said the proposed rule includes these main elements:
*It prohibits lenders from “using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA-insured mortgage financing.”
*It clarifies that “families” that are otherwise eligible for HUD programs, “may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in such a relationship.”
*It prohibits owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing or housing whose financing is insured by HUD “from inquiring about the sexual orientation or gender identity of an application for, or occupant of, the dwelling, whether renter or owner-occupied. “
The HUD statement says the agency “is proposing to institute this policy in its rental assistance and home ownership programs, which include the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance programs, community development programs, and public and assisted housing programs.”
In a telephone news conference, Donovan said the new rule also requires applicants seeking federal housing grants for a wide range of housing programs to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT people in 21 states. He said the protections under this provision would cover 43 percent of the U.S. population.
He said HUD was also conducting a first-ever national study of discrimination against LGBT people in the rental and sale of housing. He said the study broadens HUD’s existing studies that regularly measure housing discrimination based on race.
Donovan and Deputy HUD Secretary Neil Coleman said HUD carefully reviewed various federal housing laws to determine where HUD could intervene to bar sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination under existing law.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), an LGBT civil rights bill that has been stalled in Congress for nearly 20 years, does not include protections for housing related discrimination.
LGBT supportive members of Congress and mainline LGBT advocacy groups in Washington, like the Human Rights Campaign, have said an incremental approach of pushing first for legislation limited to employment protection represents the best way to achieve approval of such legislation.
Some LGBT activists have called for the immediate introduction of a broader LGBT civil rights bill that covers housing, public accommodations and other areas in addition to employment. So far, no lawmaker as introduced such a bill.
Most political observers say no LGBT supportive legislation is expected to emerge from Congress over the next two years because the Republican controlled House of Representatives would block the legislation.
HRC praised HUD’s proposed rule on LGBT housing discrimination. In a statement, it said the rule touches on some of the proposals in a package of 70 recommendations it submitted to the Obama administration two years ago aimed at improving the lives of LGBT people through executive action rather than legislation.
“The policies proposed today will help some of the most vulnerable people in our community and the nationwide survey will finally shed light on the discrimination LGBT people face every day in trying to make homes for themselves and their families,” HRC president Joe Solmonese said.
“Since the administration began, HRC staff have met and communicated with numerous federal agencies on how to implement these polices,” the HRC statement says. “Addressing discrimination in federal housing programs was part of HRC’s recommendations for HUD.”
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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