National
Senate passes LGBT-inclusive domestic violence bill
Measure passes by 68-31 on bipartisan basis

The U.S. Senate approved legislation on Thursday that aims to strengthen domestic violence programs and extend their coverage to LGBT victims.
Legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, was approved by a 68-31 vote on a bipartisan basis. Republicans had help up the legislation for weeks after it had been reported out by the Senate Judiciary Committee before finally allowing it to come to the floor.
The bill aims to strengthen and improve programs authorized under the existing law — first enacted in 1994 — to assist victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Among the ways the bill builds on existing law is setting aside grant money for programs addressing sexual assault crime and enhancing training for officials to identify high risk offenders who could commit domestic violence homicide.
But the legislation also has enumerated protections for victims of domestic violence in the LGBT community. The bill would make grants available for programs providing services to underserved communities, including LGBT victims of domestic violence. Additionally, the bill has non-discrimination language prohibiting VAWA grantees from discriminating on the basis sexual orientation or gender identity.
No Democrats voted against the legislation. Among the Republicans who joined Democrats in supporting the bill were Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and David Vitter (R-La.). Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who’s been recovering from a stroke, was the sole senator who didn’t vote.
Prior to the final vote, the Senate beat back by a vote of 37-62 an alternative version of VAWA reauthorization, sponsored by Hutchison, that would have stripped the legislation of its LGBT provisions.
No Democrat voted for this measure, but some of the same Republicans who voted for this version also voted “yes” on the final vote: Alexander, Ayotte, Coats, Corker, Crapo, Heller, Hoeven, Hutchison, McCain, Portman and Vitter.
Republicans who voted against both measures were Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), likely to signify they oppose VAWA reauthorization in any form.
Praise came from LGBT advocates, who applauded senators for working in a bipartisan way to address domestic violence.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, commended the Senate for the bipartisan nature of the vote.
“Senators from both sides of the aisle came together today to ensure that all domestic violence victims, including those who are LGBT, will not face discrimination when they seek victim services,” Solmonese said. “We applaud the Senate for recognizing the importance of this bill and taking bipartisan action, and we call on the House to do the same.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, emphasized the importance of the legislation for LGBT victims of domestic violence.
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not immune from this violence, and their distress should not be further heightened by a lack of proper response from service providers or law enforcement,” Carey said. “Imagine being assaulted, scared and in pain — and then being turned away from receiving basic services and care. No one should ever be subjected to such inhumane treatment.”
Carey said VAWA reauthorization would “go a long way toward ensuring everyone has access to life-sustaining resources,” thanking the Senate for passing the bill and urging the House “to swiftly follow suit.”
Data exists showing that LGBT people are victims of domestic violence and suffer from discrimination when seeking help at shelters. According to a 2010 report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 44.6 percent of LGBT domestic violence survivors were turned away by a shelter and 54.4 percent of LGBT survivors seeking an order of protection were denied help.
Whether the legislation can pass the Republican-controlled House remains to be seen. Observers have told the Washington Blade that passage of the bill — at least the form passed in the Senate — is unlikely in the lower chamber.
Vice President Joe Biden, who authored the 1994 version of the measure, also commended the Senate in a statement and urged the House to take action.
“In 2012, we should be beyond questioning the need for the Violence Against Women Act,” Biden said. “This law has been overwhelmingly successful since it was first enacted 17 years ago to improve the criminal justice response to this violent crime and to assist those who experience this abuse. Since then, the law has twice been reauthorized with the broad support of members of both parties. It should still be bigger than politics today.”
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.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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