National
Brewer asks Supreme Court to reverse Ariz. DP benefits
Petition seeks to overturn injunction against anti-gay law
The Supreme Court will have to decide when it returns from summer recess whether or not to consider a lawsuit challenging an Arizona law aimed at stripping state workers of domestic partner benefits.
Last week on July 2, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) appealed to the court an injunction from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals preventing the enforcement of the anti-gay law, which was signed by Brewer in 2009.
The petition filed by Brewer — who’s known for championing her state’s controversial immigration law — appeals a Sept. 6 decision from the appeals court. Judges had affirmed a district court’s decision to place injunction against enforcing the anti-gay law, which would take away health benefits afforded to the domestic partners of state employees.
The lawsuit challenging the anti-gay law, which was signed by Brewer, was filed later in 2009 by Lambda Legal and the lawfirm Perkins Coie on behalf of 10 state employees. Plaintiffs argued that taking away domestic partner benefits from state employees violates the U.S. Constitution’s promises of equal protection.
Tara Borelli, senior staff attorney with Lambda Legal, expressed confidence that the injunction against the anti-gay law would remain standing.
“We are confident that the lower courts’ decisions upholding domestic partner coverage for lesbian and gay employees will continue to carry the day,” Borelli said. “Arizona’s arguments have been turned down again and again by the federal courts, and we expect it will be no different here.”
Supporters of the injunction must provide a response by Aug. 6. The court will decide whether or not to take the case when it returns from summer recess.
The case won’t be the only LGBT-related lawsuit that the court will have to decide whether or not to consider. Attorneys for U.S. House Speaker Boehner John Boehner appealed on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group litigation a court decision overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, and the Justice Department has also asked the high court to consider DOMA cases. Additionally, the Ninth Circuit decision overturning California’s Proposition 8 is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
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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