National
‘Ex-gay’ leader criticizes pastor’s anti-gay remarks
Calif. minister calls ‘gay lifestyle’ unhealthy


Screen capture of Pastor Phillip Lee on Jamaican television show 'Religious Hardtalk,' discussing ex-gay ministries in 2009. (Screen capture of video uploaded to 'His Way Out' ministries Vimeo page)
Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International — an “ex-gay” ministries umbrella group — distanced himself from an opinion piece written by “ex-gay” pastor Phillip Lee of His Way Out Ministries in Bakersfield, Calif., that attacked the “gay lifestyle.”
The Bakersfield Californian published an editorial Sunday called “‘Gay lifestyle’ poses threat to people’s physical well-being” written by Lee saying, in part, “[t]here is, therefore, little to no evidence that homosexual practice can be anything other than a severe threat to the sanctity of life.”
“That said,” Lee wrote, “all efforts should and must continue to better understand and find a cure for AIDS and AIDS-related diseases. However, if the sexual behavior that is fundamental to most homosexual practice constitutes the primary means of transmitting such disease, then it only makes sense for society to do all it can to decrease such behavior, which ultimately protects the sanctity of life.”
Chambers responded to Lee’s commentary in an interview with the Washington Blade on Tuesday.
“Exodus is a large and diverse world-wide network,” Chambers said. “Like any church, or any political party, there are different groups or different individuals within any organization that have certain beliefs. I wouldn’t say that this is the majority of belief within Exodus, nor is it my opinion or the opinion of those that work with me here in Orlando.”
Jim Burroway, publisher of the Box Turtle Bulletin blog, which published a link to the op-ed on Monday, said this is not the normal rhetoric that is used by the Exodus parent organization.
“I don’t know what the beliefs are among Exodus’ top people,” Burroway told the Blade. “I do know that what was printed in that op-ed is very uncharacteristic of the kind of statements you would get from Exodus International.”
“As far as AIDS stigmatization is concerned, they have stayed away from that at the Exodus International level,” Burroway added. “Exodus supposedly says that they maintain certain standards that they expect their affiliates to follow. So I would question whether this op-ed conforms to these standards that they expect their affiliates to follow.”
Chambers claimed that he regularly urges Exodus supporters not to use the kind of language contained in Lee’s commentary.
“These are the types of things, when I go into the numerous churches that I go into all over the world every single year, I tell them ‘please don’t say things like this, anymore. This isn’t helpful,’ Chambers said. “This takes us back to a time of debate when that’s something that we need to move far beyond.
“I have sent him my thoughts via email. Its a hard thing when someone that you’re friends with, and you’re close to shares something publicly that you have to disagree with. But I had to do it. Its one of those things that I felt like was necessary for us to respond to.”
Chambers said that he made his feelings clear to Lee about the editorial in his email on Tuesday.
“Basically, this is not something that I agree with. This is not something that I would say. Not something that I feel like is helpful for us as we try to have conversations about very complex issues.”
Chambers, however, did not entirely rebuke the premise of Lee’s piece that same-sex sexual relationships are fundamentally detrimental to the health of gay men, as the editorial hypothesizes.
“The fact of the matter is I travel quite a bit,” Chambers said. “I go through hundreds of X-ray machines in the airports every year. That’s detrimental to my health. There’s so many things out there that are detrimental to our health, and I think picking on one issue over another, or one set of people over another… we’ve moved past that, hopefully in our culture, and I’d like to see us move further than we have.”
“Chambers is trying to soft-pedal his bigotry in order to be able to falsely claim that he’s not anti-gay,” Director of Communications and Development for ex-gay watchdog group ‘Truth Wins Out,’ John M. Becker told the Blade. “He’s willing to do anything to save Exodus and repair its terribly damaged public image, because his organization is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.”
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

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.
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.”
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