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Second lady urges acceptance of LGBT youth

Jill Biden touts Obama administration’s work against bullying

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Second lady Jill Biden emphasized acceptance and support in a speech Friday against school bullying before an audience largely made up of parents of LGBT youth.

“There is a direct connection between acceptance and positive, healthy outcomes in every important area of life, including education, mental health, and physical health,” Biden said.

Biden, an educator at Northern Virginia Community College and wife of Vice President Joseph Biden, made the remarks during the opening ceremony for PFLAG’s 2011 national convention, which took place at the Westin Alexandria. PFLAG is an organization that aims to provide a voice for the parents, family and friends of LGBT people.

Amid news stories of gay youths committing suicide after they had been bullied because of their sexual orientation, Biden stressed the importance of instilling a sense of self-confidence in children as they head through their teen years.

“For children who are struggling with understanding their sexual orientation or gender identity, the teen years can be particularly challenging,” Biden said. “And, of course, kids are not always kind to each other during these times, especially when one of them is different.”

As English teacher, Biden said she has students write about themselves in journals and through these entries knows the “pain and anxiety” felt by LGBT students who are bullied. She said this harassment “makes it almost impossible for students to concentrate on their school work.”

Biden said “no child should be subjected” to the kind of bullying that would lead to them to commit suicide and “no parent should suffer that horrific loss.”

In addition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and passing hate crimes protection legislation, Biden touted the work the Obama administration has done for LGBT youth, such holding a White House summit on bullying and issuing guidance to schools to combat student harassment and support gay-straight alliances.

“This progress is important, but there is still more to do,” Biden said. “At this critical time for education in our country, we need to ensure that our schools are producing the next generation of American leaders and heroes. We must insure that our classrooms are safer for all students
to learn, grow, and thrive.”

Biden’s speech was well received by those in attendance at the convention. An estimated 300 attendees from across the country took part in events after participating Thursday in a lobby day on Capitol Hill.

Jody Huckaby, PFLAG’s executive director, said Biden’s message “connected the dots” between acceptance and support and “positive mental health and education outcomes.”

“Spending so many years in the classroom, [she] really recognizes when she’s got a student who is LGBT or thinks that they might be that — when the family is accepting — there’s a much, much higher likelihood that they’re going to have a positive education outcome,” Huckaby said.

Rustin Furlow, a gay 21-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, said he thought Biden’s speech was “inspirational” and he related to her remarks about student harassment.

“Going up I experienced bullying,” Furlow said. “Just to hear someone of that caliber mention bullying — it made me feel like people are hearing that — do understand the problem. It was nice to hear someone acknowledge that it is a problem, and we’re trying to do something to fix it.”

Ann Ogg, a 63-year old Littleton, Colo, resident, she said came to the convention to advocate for her adult lesbian daughter and praised Biden’s speech.

“It was really good to get support for our LGBT loved ones from high offices because we want our LGBT people to have equal rights,” Ogg said. “We want them to have the very same rights we have. We think it’s horrible that they don’t. I want my gay daughter to have the very same rights that all the rest of us enjoy.”

Despite the work the Obama administration has done to combat bullying, President Obama has yet to endorse legislation that would help protect LGBT students: the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act. The administration has said it supports the goals of the bills, but has yet to provide full-throated support.

Advocates have been pushing for inclusion of the anti-bullying bills as part of an education measure known as Elementary & Secondary Education Act reauthorization. The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee approved this legislation on Oct. 20 while leaving out the anti-bullying bills, although their backers pledged to bring them up as amendments on the Senate floor.

Huckaby said “there’s no reason” the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act should left out of education reform.

“We’re talking about life and death for young people,” Huckaby said. “In terms of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act, there’s no reason why those issues of key pieces of legislation can’t be a part of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act if that’s the direction that we need to take to get those things accomplished and create safer schools.”

Asked whether he wants the Obama administration to endorse the bills, Huckaby replied, “I think it’s critically important they speak up, and if they take a look at what our opportunities are, I think there are tremendous opportunities right now for them to speak out and to say this legislation that can make a difference.”

PFLAG was among eight LGBT organizations that signed a letter to the leaders on the Senate HELP committee saying they’re withholding support from the education reform bill as it currently stands because it lacks enumerated protections for LGBT students.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports

27 states have passed laws limiting participation in athletics programs

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U.S. Supreme Court (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear two cases involving transgender youth challenging bans prohibiting them from participating in school sports.

In Little v. Hecox, plaintiffs represented by the ACLU, Legal Voice, and the law firm Cooley are challenging Idaho’s 2020 ban, which requires sex testing to adjudicate questions of an athlete’s eligibility.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals described the process in a 2023 decision halting the policy’s enforcement pending an outcome in the litigation. The “sex dispute verification process, whereby any individual can ‘dispute’ the sex of any female student athlete in the state of Idaho,” the court wrote, would “require her to undergo intrusive medical procedures to verify her sex, including gynecological exams.”

In West Virginia v. B.P.J., Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Cooley are representing a trans middle school student challenging the Mountain State’s 2021 ban on trans athletes.

The plaintiff was participating in cross country when the law was passed, taking puberty blockers that would have significantly reduced the chances that she could have a physiological advantage over cisgender peers.

“Like any other educational program, school athletic programs should be accessible for everyone regardless of their sex or transgender status,” said Joshua Block, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project. “Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do — to learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and to simply have fun with their friends,” Block said.

He added, “Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth. We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play.”

“Our client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers,” said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli. “Everyone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization, and myriad other benefits.”

Borelli continued, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling allowing B.P.J. to continue participating in track events. That well-reasoned decision should stand the test of time, and we stand ready to defend it.”

Shortly after taking control of both legislative chambers, Republican members of Congress tried — unsuccessfully — to pass a national ban like those now enforced in 27 states since 2020.

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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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