National
Senate panel omits bullying bills from education reform
Franken, Casey pledge to bring up measures on floor

A Senate committee left out pro-LGBT anti-bullying measures from education reform as the sponsors of the legislation pledged to offer these bills as amendments on the floor.
The Senate Health, Education, Education & Pensions Committee late Thursday reported out a massive education bill known as Elementary & Secondary Education Act reauthorization by a bipartisan vote of 15-7.
But the Democratic-controllled panel didn’t vote on pro-LGBT bills that advocates were seeking to have included as part of the larger legislation — the Student Non-Discrimination Act, or SNDA, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, or SSIA.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the sponsor of SNDA, and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the sponsor of SSIA, both offered their bills as amendments during the markup, but withdrew them before a vote could be held.
During the markup, Franken delivered a speech in which he said he feels “very, very strongly” about SNDA as he pledged to bring up the measure as an amendment on the floor.
Franken said recent stories about gay youths committing suicide after they had been bullied in school demonstrates the need for passing SNDA. One such youth, Justin Aaberg, a gay 15-year old who committed suicide last year, resided in Franken’s state of Minnesota.
“We are faced with a group of students that is facing pervasive discrimination,” Franken said. “They are being viciously harassed and bullied. They are staying home from school. They are dropping out of school. They are literally killing themselves, and our schools aren’t doing enough to stop it. And yet again, these students have nothing they can do about it. There is no law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in schools.”
April Mellody, a Casey spokesperson, said Casey also introduced his bill as an amendment, but then “made the difficult decision” to withdraw the measure because it feared it would sink the education bill as a whole.
“Pennsylvania teachers, principals, and parents have been asking for a new law to replace No Child Left Behind since he arrived in the Senate and he felt he could not jeopardize the bipartisan committee vote to pass ESEA out of committee,” Mellody said.
Mellody added Casey “is committed to addressing the bullying epidemic” and intends to offer his bill as an amendment again when the full Senate considers the larger education legislation.
Justine Sessions, a Senate HELP committee spokesperson, said committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) indicated he hopes the full Senate will take up the education reform bill during the next work period. The Senate is out of session next week for recess.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, chided the committee for not including the pro-LGBT measures as part of the education bill before it went to the Senate floor.
“We are disappointed that the committee did not adopt anti-LGBT bullying amendments that enjoyed bipartisan, majority support,” Solmonese said. “This major reauthorization bill was the best opportunity the Senate will have in this Congress to address the problem of bullying faced by LGBT students. It is imperative that the committee revisit this issue and acknowledge the consequences bullying has on the youth in our community.”
Both Franken and Casey would have more difficulty having successful votes for their legislation on the floor than they would in committee.
Each of the 12 Democrats on the Senate HELP Committee co-sponsor SNDA, which would easily have given the measure the necessary votes for inclusion as part of education reform during the panel markup.
Only 11 members of the committee co-sponsor of SSIA, which is one vote short necessary for passage. Ten Democrats are co-sponsors in addition to Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), an original co-sponsors. However, the two of the Democrats who aren’t co-sponsors — Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) — would likely have voted for the measure should it have come up in committee, giving the amendment the necessary support for passage.
If Franken and Casey were to offer SNDA and SSIA on the Senate floor, they would likely need 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster.
The number of co-sponsors for the legislation aren’t anywhere near 60 and neither bill enjoys significant Republican support. SNDA has 34 co-sponsors — all Democrats. SSIA has 32 co-sponsors and Kirk is the only Republican supporter.
An LGBT advocate earlier this week speaking anonymously identified Harkin as the “obstacle” to including SNDA and SSIA as part of education reform during the markup and said he wanted a clean bill that could easily pass committee.
Harkin is a co-sponsor of both SNDA and SSIA. A Harkin spokesperson responded to the charge by saying the senator has “long supported efforts to ensure that all children feel safe and secure in our schools.”
Additionally, President Obama has yet to endorse either SSIA or SNDA. The White House has said it supports the goals of the legislation, but hasn’t offered explicit support for the bills.
Watch the video of Franken’s remarks before the committee on SNDA here:
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.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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