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Gays just wanted to have fun at HRC ball

LGBT advocates, buoyed by inaugural speech, celebrate 2nd term

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Tammy Baldwin, United States Senate, Wisconsin, Democratic Party, Human Rights Campaign, inauguration 2013, gay news, Washington Blade
Tammy Baldwin, United States Senate, Wisconsin, Democratic Party, Human Rights Campaign, inauguration 2013, gay news, Washington Blade

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) speaks at HRC’s inaugural celebration (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The official start of President Obama’s second term was cause for excitement on Monday at the Human Rights Campaign’s “Out for Equality” inaugural ball.

A jubilant crowd of about 1,500 donned tuxedos and designer duds after Obama was sworn into office by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts and the inaugural parade. They braved the cold night to gather at D.C.’s Mayflower Hotel, which sported a rainbow flag above its front entrance.

Audra McDonald, gay news Washington Blade

Audra McDonald (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Entertainment included Audra McDonald, a five-time Tony Award winner, and Will Swenson, a Tony nominated actor known for his roles in “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and “Hair.” Ending the celebration was gay icon Cyndi Lauper, a longtime HRC supporter, who closed the night with a rendition of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” also made an appearance.

A number of high-profile pro-LGBT figures made appearances. At one point the stage featured Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.,) the leader on anti-bullying legislation in the Senate; New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, whose recent election assured the preservation of marriage equality in her state; and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a rising Democratic star considering a bid to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.

But the political star who received the most attention during the ball was lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who called for a toast to Obama in response to LGBT references in his inaugural address after Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin introduced her on stage.

“I was so struck in the passage about going from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall — all of us working so hard to advance true equality, but all woven into the small fabric of our American story,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin declined to take questions from the Washington Blade after her remarks.

As he shook hands with supporters, Booker took a question from the Blade about the prospects of legalizing same-sex marriage in New Jersey. The Democratic legislature last year passed marriage legislation, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it.

“It’s still not a matter of not if, but when,” Booker said. “But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be pushing and working for it every single day. So, hopefully we can still override the governor’s veto, or frankly, in the next election in November, bring in a governor who shares the values of the majority of the state of New Jersey that will stand up for marriage equality.”

But the buzz during the party was the inaugural speech Obama delivered a few hours earlier in which he twice included the LGBT community by including the 1969 Stonewall riots in his speech.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” he also said.

It was the first time a U.S. president had ever addressed the LGBT community in an inaugural address.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the newly seated gay U.S. House member, was among those who praised Obama’s speech and said he “became emotional” listening to the president deliver his remarks on LGBT rights.

Sean Patrick Maloney, New York, United States Congress, Democratic Party, gay news, Washington Blade

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

“I’ve never been more proud of an American president,” Maloney said. “I thought about my kids and I brought my kids who are African American to watch the president because I wanted them to understand that anyone can do anything in this country, but I never imagined that they would also get a lesson on how we’re all equal regardless not just of race, but sexual orientation and to receive that lesson from the president was beautiful and remarkable.”

Gay Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf also had high praise for Obama’s decision to include LGBT references in his inaugural address, calling it “historic.”

“It was surprising, I guess,” Elmendorf said. “We know where he is, but at an inaugural event, nobody has ever said ‘gay’ at an inaugural. Nobody has ever done such a good job of making the case about how the gay rights movement, sort of follows from the women’s rights movement and civil rights movement and put it all together. There were not a lot of dry eyes among the gays watching that speech.”

Corey Johnson, a gay New York City Council candidate, echoed that sentiment.

“I was pleased when Stonewall was put in the same sentence as Seneca Falls and Selma and I thought that could have been enough, but then to go on and explicitly talk about equal rights for LGBT Americans for the first time ever in an inaugural address I thought was unexpected, yet incredibly welcomed, so I was very moved actually,” Johnson said.

Michael K. Lavers contributed to this article.

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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 “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.

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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 “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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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

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.”

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