National
Gay activist loses bid for Congress in Michigan
Thomas previously worked in D.C. for HRC, SLDN


Trevor Thomas (right) lost his congressional bid on Tuesday night (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A gay candidate who has built his political career on LGBT activism has lost his bid to represent his home state of Michigan in Congress.
Trevor Thomas, a Michigan native who worked for LGBT advocacy groups in D.C. before returning to his home state, lost the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s 3rd congressional district to Steve Pestka, a small business owner and former Kent County commissioner. Pestka will go on to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) in the general election.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, Thomas said he called Pestka to concede the race at around 11:15 p.m. With 73 percent of precincts reporting at around midnight, local NBC affiliate WOOD TV reported Pestka was leading with 56 percent of the vote compared to Thomas’ 44 percent of the vote.
“I spoke with Judge Pestka tonight and congratulated him on his victory in this hard-fought campaign,” said Thomas in a statement. “I told him that I look forward to working together to defeat Justin Amash in the fall. Democrats and folks from across the political spectrum are united in feeling that Representative Amash is out of touch with West Michigan values, and we need to make sure that we unseat him in November.”
Thomas served as deputy communications director for the Human Rights Campaign and communications director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. His work at disseminating information on developments on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was lauded as Congress made its way though the process for repealing the military’s gay ban. Thomas also worked for the short-lived group Equality Matters, which was an arm of the watchdog group Media Matters.
However, Thomas faced a significant challenge in winning the Democratic nomination in the race. For starters, Pestka had been endorsed by many unions — including the United Auto Workers, the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO — which are a powerful force in a state that is highly dependent on the automobile industry.
Pestka also had more money to campaign on than Thomas, although much of Pestka’s money was the result of him contributing to his own campaign.
Pestka’s net receipts were $799,000 over the course of the cycle, but $590,000 of that was self-financing and $208,000 was from external sources. Meanwhile, Thomas had raised $282,000 from contributors and self-financed only $7,000. At the time of the primary, Pestka had $452,000 in cash on hand while Thomas had $86,000. Still, Pestka had accrued $658,000 in debt over the course of his campaign and Thomas’ campaign carried no debt.
Thomas obtained the endorsements of Michigan’s former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Gov. John Cherry after having worked for them during their gubernatorial campaign. A number of high-profile figures in the gay rights movement also endorsed him, including former Rep. Patrick Murphy, who sponsored legislation that repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the U.S. House, as well as retiring gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
Michigan has an open primary, meaning voters can cast their ballot in a primary regardless of their declared political affiliation. It wasn’t immediately clear if the open primary had a significant impact on the primary results.
In other election news, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) won the Republican primary in a three-way competition to challenge incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who’s considered among the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate. The outcome has relevance to the LGBT community because Akin has been leading anti-gay initiatives in the Republican-controlled U.S. House. Akin was the sponsor of amendments in the House Armed Services Committee to major Pentagon budget legislation that would bar same-sex weddings from taking place on military facilities.
CORRECTION: An initial version of this article incorrectly stated Pestka had outraised Thomas during the campaign. That characterization didn’t take into account the money that Pestka had loaned himself for his campaign. The Blade regrets the error.
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.”
-
U.S. Supreme Court4 days ago
Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports
-
Out & About4 days ago
Celebrate the Fourth of July the gay way!
-
Virginia4 days ago
Va. court allows conversion therapy despite law banning it
-
Opinions5 days ago
Can we still celebrate Fourth of July this year?