National
2010 Census count of gay couples is reduced
Agency now says 131,729 married same-sex couples in U.S.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday unveiled new data revealing that 131,729 married same-sex couples and 514,735 same-sex unmarried couples live in the United States.
Based on information compiled as part of the 2010 Census — the first time ever data on gay couples was collected as part of the effort — the new figures revise earlier estimates of same-sex couples published in the summer. Initial data showed 349,377 married same-sex couple households and 552,620 same-sex unmarried partner households.
Census Bureau staff discovered an inconsistency in the statistics that artificially inflated the number of same-sex couples. The adjusted results are closer to previously released estimates of the 2010 American Community Survey for same-sex married and unmarried partners.
In a statement, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said his bureau understands “how important it is for all groups to have accurate statistics that reflect who we are as a nation.”
“As scientists, we noticed the inconsistency and developed the revised estimates to provide a more accurate portrait of the number of same-sex couples,” Groves said. “We’re providing all three — the revised, original and ACS estimates — together to provide users with the full, transparent picture of our current measurement of same-sex couples.”
According to the Census Bureau, the 2010 Census revised estimates were peer-reviewed by Gary Gates, a gay demographer with the Williams Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles, Philip Cohen, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Megan Sweeney, professor of sociology at UCLA. These experts agreed the methodology was sound behind these revised estimates.
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, said the revised estimates demonstrate the need to advance marriage equality throughout the country.
“The number of gay and lesbian couples in committed, loving relationships, raising families together, continues to grow, leaving more and more families without the critical safety-net of marriage,” Wolfson said.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said the publication of the data is “another step in erasing the invisibility of our lives.”
“No longer are our marriages rendered invisible in the snapshot of our country provided through the Census,” Carey said. “And no longer can anyone ignore the presence of our relationships all across the country.”
The Task Force played a role in getting the U.S. Census Bureau to report the number of married same-sex couples in the 2010 census as part of its “Queer the Census” initiative.
Participants were encouraged to place a sticker on the back of their 2010 Census envelopes asking the U.S. Census Bureau to include LGBT people in the count. According to the Task Force, more than 140,000 stickers were sent in and more than 30,000 people signed a petition demanding LGBT-inclusion in efforts like the Census.
Despite the inclusion of information on same-sex couples, Carey said additional information — not just on couples but on individuals — is necessary for adequate insights about LGBT people in the United States.
“[LGBT] individuals still are not counted in the Census or dozens of other surveys that are supposed to reflect the diversity of people in America,” Carey said. “When LGBT people are not counted, we don’t ‘count’ when it comes to money for services, resources and programs. Census and other data are the basis for how the government spends billions of dollars each year.”
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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