National
National news in brief: April 8
Montana abandons anti-gay bill, Rhode Island lawmakers consider marriage alternatives and more
McDonnell opposes adoption by gays in Va.
WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said this week that he opposes proposed regulations his predecessor devised that would allow same-sex couples to adopt children in the state, the Washington Post reported. Only married couples and single men and women can adopt in Virginia now. The proposed legislation would mandate that gay and unmarried couples be able to access faith-based groups to adopt, the Post said. “I don’t think we ought to force Catholic Charities to make that part of their policy or other similar situated groups,’’ the Post quoted McDonnell as saying. He has until April 16 to make a recommendation to the State Board of Social Services. Former governor Tim Kaine, who announced Tuesday that he is running for U.S. Senate in 2012, proposed the change to the regulations in November 2009.
Montana Senate abandons anti-LGBT bill
HELENA, Mont. — A Montana bill that would have made it unlawful for any city, town or county in the state to pass a law protecting LGBT residents from discrimination has been abandoned, according to a report from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund. The state Senate sent the bill back to committee last week where it’s doubtful anything will be done with it prior to April 29, when the legislature’s session ends. The bill had passed in the House. A pro-gay Council ordinance last year in Missoula, Mont., inspired the proposed legislation.
Patrick nominates first out gay justice to high court
BOSTON — Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick is making history again with one of his judicial selections, nominating Barbara A. Lenk, an associate justice of the state Appeals Court who is married to a same-sex partner, to a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court, the Boston Globe reported this week. If confirmed by the Governor’s Council, Lenk would be the first openly gay judge on the state’s highest court. She would also be the only justice who was married as a result of the court’s landmark 2003 ruling that made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004, the Globe said.
Swarthmore student and friend gay bashed
PHILADELPHIA — A Swarthmore College student and his friend were attacked on campus Sunday by a group of teens in what may have been a gay-bashing assault, a college official told the Philadelphia Inquirer. The attack occurred on Mertz Field on the Delaware County campus, Elizabeth Braun, dean of students, wrote to the college community Tuesday. Neither the student nor his friend was identified. The student reported that he and his friend were punched and knocked to the ground, and then were repeatedly kicked and stomped by at least five boys and one girl, Braun said. They were not seriously injured.
Rep. Holt pushes for end to spouse deportation
HADDONFIELD, N.J. — U.S. Rep. Rush Holt is pushing the Obama administration to halt deportation proceedings against the same-sex spouses of U.S. citizens, the Associated Press reported this week. The Democrat wrote a letter to the federal Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday to make the request on behalf of a couple who live in his central New Jersey district. An estimated 36,000 bi-national same-sex couples are in the U.S., and all have reason to be worried if deportations are not stopped, the couple’s lawyer said according to the AP. Homeland Security did not immediately comment on Holt’s request.
R.I. lawmakers consider alternatives to marriage
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island lawmakers will consider a proposal to allow gay couples and others who can’t legally marry, such as siblings, to enter into an agreement providing many of the benefits of marriage, the AP reported this week. A House committee will review legislation Tuesday that would extend benefits and rights associated with insurance, health care decisions, inheritance and property ownership to so-called “reciprocal beneficiaries.” The legal relationships would be restricted to anyone older than 18 who cannot legally marry their partner. Committees in the House and Senate have held hearings on legislation allowing gay marriage, but neither chamber has scheduled a vote on the bill.
Nashville Council approves non-discrimination law
NASHVILLE — Nashville made a significant move Tuesday to limit discrimination against LGBT residents as the Metro Council approved new rules for city contractors, joining more than 100 communities across the United States the Tennessean reported. The Council voted 21-15 — which was, despite appearances, the narrowest of margins — to require firms doing business with the city to promise not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Those companies will have to sign affidavits to that effect. The legislation needed approval from at least 21 of the 40 council members to pass on the third and final vote, the Tennessean said.
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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District of Columbia5 days ago
Activists protest outside Hungarian Embassy in DC
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Virginia4 days ago
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Books4 days ago
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Theater4 days ago
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