National
Will Romney seal the deal in S.C.?
GOP frontrunner enjoys 14-point lead heading into primary

GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney appears to be headed for another win in the upcoming South Carolina primary as observers say a victory there would virtually seal the deal for him as the Republican presidential nominee.
Polls show Romney — who in national polls has a double-digit lead over other Republican contenders — also having a significant lead over his rivals in South Carolina, where state voters on Saturday will head to the polls in an open primary.
On Tuesday, Rasmussen Reports published a poll showing the former Massachusetts governor with a whopping 14-point lead over his challengers. He was favored by 35 percent of responders, despite speculation that his faith as a Mormon and his history as governor of a “blue” state would mean he wouldn’t fare well in the conservative state.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was polling in second place with support from 21 percent of responders, while Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum were tied for third with 16 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry had support from only 5 percent.
Hastings Wyman, who’s gay and editor of the Southern Political Report, predicted that Romney would win Saturday, and the South Carolina victory after previous wins in Iowa and New Hampshire would cement the candidate as the GOP nominee.
“From what I can see, it looks like Romney is going to win,” Wyman said. “And I think, assuming he does, the nomination is pretty much his. You never know what’s going to happen, but that’s what it looks like to me.”
Romney’s strong support in the polls was boosted by former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr., dropping out of the race and endorsing Romney for president. Huntsman was polling in the single digits prior to his withdrawal, but his supporters likely went to Romney because of the endorsement and because both are seen as more moderate candidates in the Republican field.
GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia, who endorsed Romney, also said he expects Romney to win and the race for the Republican nomination will virtually be a done deal after South Carolina.
“South Carolina voters have a history of voting for the eventual nominee,” LaSalvia said. “Mitt Romney will win in South Carolina on Saturday. There may be one or two of the other candidates who go on after losing on Saturday, but this primary election season will be effectively over.”
While campaigning in the Palmetto State, Romney has endorsed anti-gay positions. During a stump speech in South Carolina on Saturday, Romney said President Obama’s decision to discontinue the government’s defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court would lead to the advancement of same-sex marriage throughout the country.
“This is a president also who is attempting to pave the way for same-sex marriage in our nation by refusing through his attorney general to defend the Defense of Marriage Act,” Romney said. “I will defend that act and I will also defend marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.”
Romney has said he supports “full rights” for gay people, although he says he’s always opposed same-sex marriage. He has signed a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage committing himself to back a Federal Marriage Amendment, defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and establish a presidential commission on “religious liberty.”
Even in a conservative state like South Carolina, Wyman said he doesn’t think opposition to gay rights will motivate voters to go to the polls because they’re more concerned about the economy.
“I don’t think it’s the leading issue,” Wyman said. “If one of the candidates were out-and-out pro-gay, then I think it would hurt him or her, but I don’t think it’s a big issue there.”
Fresh from his endorsement by evangelical leaders who threw their support behind him after a Texas meeting on Saturday, Santorum has also emphasized anti-gay views during his campaign, but has somewhat toned down his rhetoric.
“We need to encourage what is best for mothers and fathers and children, which is for them to be together and to give every child their birth right, which is to know and be loved by their mom and dad,” Santorum said. “If we don’t hold that up as something that society is for and encouraging and promoting, then we will get less of it and then we will be, in a sense, denying children what is best for them.”
Santorum was set to appear Thursday with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins at a Values Voters rally at East Cooper Baptist Church in Mt Pleasant, S.C.
Christine Johnson, executive director of South Carolina Equality, said LGBT people there have been watching the Republican presidential race as “day by day, the anti-gay rhetoric becomes increasingly part of the conversation.”
“It seems it’s not enough to campaign on foreign policy and the economy — the issues that affect us all — but necessary to include devisive language that not only contradicts their consensus building promises, but demonstrates an unapologetic view that the LGBT community should remain an undefined underclass of society,” Johnson said.
According to South Carolina Equality, more than 120,000 LGBT people are estimated to live in the state as well as more than 7,300 same-sex couples.
“This pandering to South Carolina, ultra-conservative voters, continues to disenfranchise the many LGBT Republicans that live in the Palmetto State and is creating both anger and resentment among the community at large,” Johnson said.
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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