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HUD: Religious groups must abide by LGBT non-bias rule

Frank praises administration’s ‘important policy’

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A Department of Housing & Urban Development official said Monday religious institutions receiving federal funds for housing programs will have to abide by a new HUD rule prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people.

John TrasviƱa, assistant secretary forĀ Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, confirmed the rule would impact religious institutions during a conference callĀ in response to a question from the Washington Blade, saying, “All HUD housing providers are covered under this rule.”

Asked to clarify whether these providers include religious institutions,Ā TrasviƱa replied, “Yes.”

Ian Thompson, the ACLU’s legislative representative, first wrote inĀ a blog postingĀ on the ACLU’s siteĀ last week that the rule will cover religious institutions that receive money for federal programs.

“[T]he rule will requireĀ allĀ organizations that operate HUD-assisted or HUD-insured housing facilities to serve LGBT Americans looking for shelter and housing — including religious organizations,” Thompson said. “[O]nce a religious organization chooses to provide housing services or programs with the aid of federal funds and benefits from HUD, it cannot shield itself from traditional safeguards that protect civil rights in the provision of those services.”

Thompson added that religious organizations providing entirely private housing services are unaffected by the change.

“We are pleased that HUD said that all organizations must provide equal access to HUD housing programs and did not sanction the use of religion to discriminate,” Thompson concluded.

The rule,Ā first proposed in January, covers programs serving an estimated 5.5 million Americans, including those living in low-income subsidized housing.

The measure, which has four general components, requires owners and operators ofĀ HUD-assisted housing to make housing available to applicants and occupants regardless of their LGBT status.

The rule clarifies ā€œfamiliesā€ otherwise eligible for HUD programs can’t be excluded because of one or more members of the family’s sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

Additionally, the rule prohibits owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing or housing whose financing is insured by HUD from inquiring about the sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant or occupant of a dwelling, whether renter or owner-occupied.

TrasviƱa said HUD clarified this provision doesn’t prohibit voluntary and anonymous reporting of LGBT status in state, local or federal data collection requirements.

Additionally, the measure has a bearing onĀ mortgage insurance programs.Ā It prohibits lenders from using LGBT status as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage financing.

“These days, when one-third of new homebuyers are served by FHA lenders, this last element to make sure that one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not a basis for denying an FHA loan is critically important to America’s families,”Ā TrasviƱa said.

TrasviƱa added that rule is “governed as a HUD program rule,” so, unlike the Fair Housing Act provision, HUD offices throughout the country will enforce it and not just the Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced on Saturday during a speech at the 24th annual Creating Change conference that HUD would this week make final the rule by publishing it in the Federal Register. On Monday, the department published the text of the final regulation.

TrasviƱa confirmed that the Federal Register would publish the rule this week, but in response to another Blade question said he couldn’t give a more definitive time for when the rule will be published.

“That’s a little bit out of our control,”Ā TrasviƱa said. “Typically, the rules get printed within a week once they’re submitted, so the rule has been submitted, we’re just waiting for its publication.”

Trasviña noted that publication of the rule will start the 30-day period before the measure will go into effect and expects the measure to go into effect starting in March.

In a statement provided by HUD, gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) commended the department for implementing the change, saying ā€œI am grateful to the Obama administration for instituting this important policy.”

 

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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 ā€˜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.

ā€œLike 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,ā€ Block said.

He added, ā€œCategorically 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.”

ā€œOur client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers,ā€ said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli. ā€œEveryone 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.ā€

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 ā€œpermitting 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.”

ā€œToday’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.ā€

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 ā€œGay Pride Marchā€ 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.

ā€œAfter 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,ā€ the lesbian lawmaker said on X. ā€œGuns are a problem despite the NRA BS.ā€

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