National
National news in brief: Jan 20
Weekend takes gay critics top prize, NJ lawmaker in hot water for anti-gay tweet, historic candidacy for Fla. trans businesswoman, and progress on many fronts in Illinois


‘Weekend’ took top honors in the third annual Dorian Awards, given by gay and lesbian critics. (courtesy photo)
Gay critics pick ‘Weekend’ as best film
HOLLYWOOD — The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association announced the recipients of its third annual Dorian Awards this week, which included the much buzzed about film, “Weekend.”
The British film about a brief love story won the top prize in the awards, given by a panel of 50 critics and entertainment journalists. Other honorees included AIDS chronicle, “We Were Here,” television series “American Horror Story,” and “Modern Family,” and performances by Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady,” and Michael Fassbender in “Shame.” Betty White was honored with a “timeless” actress award.
A tie in the “TV Musical Program” of the year was shared between “Glee” and “Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour.”
N.J. lawmaker under fire for anti-gay tweet
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A New Jersey lawmaker has released a hasty apology after sending out an anti-gay tweet on Sunday, according to OutSports.com.
“We are not going to just lay down, we come to play,” tweeted assemblyman and Jersey City police officer, Charles Mainor. “Who the hell do you think we are the DALLAS COWGIRLS OR THOSE GAYBIRDS FROM PHILLY…NO WE ARE THE NEW YORK GIANTS.”
Mainor claims that a friend sat down at his computer, where he was logged into Twitter, and posted the message under his account.
“I have to take full responsibility because it was under my name,” Mainor told The Star-Ledger on Monday. “I have no excuse, other than me not looking before he did send the post.”
Trans candidate in bid for Fla. commission
ORLANDO, Fla. — Gina Duncan, a transgender woman who serves as the Orlando-area Metropolitan Business Association president, has decided to seek a seat on the Orange County Commission.
“I have been interacting with so many business owners and major corporations, and it showed me there’s a need for new voice in Orange County government,” Duncan said. “Someone who knows how to create a welcoming environment to attract corporations.”
Illinois law targets ‘cyber bullying’
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A law has gone into effect in Illinois that will allow school administrators to intervene in cases when one student is harassing or threatening another on the Internet, according to the Advocate.
LGBT students are often the target of ‘cyber bullying,’ which was brought to national attention in 2010 with the suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clemente.
Illinois gay activists are also examining the possibility of expanding the state’s civil unions law to allow for full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Since passage, organizations have expressed confusion over the law, including the Illinois Department of Revenue in the case of filing joint taxes, as well as employers offering spousal insurance benefits to employees in civil unions.
“I do not delude myself into thinking this will be an easy process. But we need to take the first step,” said gay state Rep. Greg Harris, who believes the marriage legislation will not be introduced until 2013, at the earliest. “We have to be ready to stand up and defend the gains that we’ve made and to look toward the next steps,” he told the Advocate.
As an example of the confusion over civil unions, the Springfield Joint Labor/Management Insurance Committee unanimously voted this week to offer spousal insurance benefits to employees in civil unions, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.
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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