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National news in brief: August 5

AFTAH non-profit status yanked, anti-gay group voter fraud alleged in Wisconsin recall, three new reports charting LGBT progress and more

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Anti-gay group’s tax-exempt status yanked

CHICAGO — Despite long being certified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “hate group,” Illinois-based Americans for the Truth About Homosexuality has maintained its tax-free non-profit status since 2006, and its president, Peter LaBarbera, has continued to bill himself as a credible source to media outlets on LGBT issues.

However, as of June 10 donations to the organization will not be considered tax-exempt after losing 501(c)3 status for “failure to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF for 3 consecutive years,” according to LGBT blog and watchdog group, ExGayWatch.

Tea Party group accused of voter fraud in Wis.

MILWAUKEE — Tea Party activist group, Americans for Prosperity and anti-LGBT group Wisconsin Family Action are accused of voter fraud after allegedly mailing absentee ballots with inaccurate deadline dates and wrong return addresses to Democratic voters in districts where two Republican senators face recall.

Several voters reported receiving the ballots with instructions to return “by August 11,” two days after the actual Aug. 9 deadline, and asks for ballots to be mailed not to the County Clerk, but to “Application Processing Center,” at a mailing address belonging to the anti-gay WFA, all according to the Minnesota Independent online newspaper.

“I’m sure the liberals will try to make a mountain out of a molehill in an attempt to distract voters’ attention from the issues,” Wisconsin state director of Americans for Prosperity, Matt Seaholm told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, calling the mistakes “typos.”

S.C. paper prints same-sex wedding announcement

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The State, a prominent South Carolina newspaper, this week published the New York wedding announcement of two men native to South Carolina who have been together since 1984. It was the first time the paper has published a same-sex wedding announcement.

Gregory Smith and William Hasty III, who were both commissioned officers in the Army, met in Columbia S.C., raised two sons, and were finally married in Mamaroneck, N.Y. on July 26, 2011, two days after same-sex marriages began to be recognized. The paper developed a policy of printing same-sex wedding announcements of local couples who marry in states where such marriages are legal.

3 reports show state of LGBT acceptance

WASHINGTON — Three separate reports released on Wednesday show significant gains and ongoing challenges for the LGBT community in terms of college campus inclusively, television responsibility and equal access under the law.

Campus Pride released its annual “LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index,” which seeks to help campuses assess their ongoing efforts to provide a more “inclusive, welcoming and respectful,” college experience. According to the report, campuses receiving a perfect 5-star rating rose from 19 in 2010 to 33. However, Campus Pride also found that only seven percent of American colleges have institutional support for LGBT students, only thirteen percent include sexual orientation in campus non-discrimination statements, and only six percent include gender identity in those same statements.

Also on Wednesday, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released its annual Network Responsibility Index, grading television networks on positive LGBT portrayals. ABC Family is only the second network ever to receive an “excellent” rating in the report, with positive LGBT impressions included in more than 55 percent of all programming hours.

CW topped broadcast networks at 33 percent of programming hours and A&E, TBS received failing grades. CBS was named “least improved” broadcast network over the course of 5 years.

Finally, the Movement Advancement Project released its biennial Momentum report, highlighting “challenges among accelerating change.” The report cited public opinion supporting marriage equality, as well as significant gains in relationship recognition with marriage expanding from two to six states and civil recognition extended in six new states in two years. The report also celebrated a tremendous increase in LGBT-inclusive policy at the federal level, repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” striking of adoption bans in Arkansas and Florida, strengthening of employment protections in four states, and anti-bullying laws in six states.

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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

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

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.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

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.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

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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