National
Pennsylvania advocates differ on marriage strategy
Commonwealth among 29 states without LGBT-inclusive statewide anti-discrimination law

Some Pennsylvania advocates have begun to differ on whether they should push for marriage rights for same-sex couples without first securing statewide anti-LGBT discrimination protections.
Sue Kerr, editor of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, told the Washington Blade on Tuesday that the recent announcement by state Reps. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) and Stephen McCarter (D-Montgomery County) that they plan to introduce a same-sex marriage bill in Harrisburg seems “a little bit like putting the cart before the horse.”
A Susquehanna Polling and Research survey in May found 72 percent of Pennsylvanians back two bills — House Bill 300 and Senate Bill 300 — in the state legislature that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the state. A Franklin and Marshall College poll released during the same month found 54 percent of respondents support same-sex marriage.
“House Bill 300 helps everyone — every single person in our community,” Kerr said. “It’s not defined by our relationships. It’s defined by who we are as citizens, residents of the state.”
Pennsylvania is among the states without an LGBT-inclusive statewide non-discrimination law.
Neighboring New York, Maryland and Delaware are among the 11 states and D.C. in which same-sex couples are currently able to legally marry. A federal judge in Ohio on Monday ordered the state to recognize the marriage of a gay couple that tied the knot at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on July 11.
The American Civil Liberties Union on July 9 filed a lawsuit against the Keystone State’s statutory same-sex marriage ban.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced two days later she would not defend the law in court.
Josh Shapiro, chair of the Montgomery County Commissioners, on Tuesday announced the suburban Philadelphia county would issue a marriage license to a lesbian couple.
The women, whom the Times Herald newspaper identified as Loreen M. Bloodgood and Alicia A. Terrizzi of Pottstown, wed earlier on Wednesday. They are the first same-sex couple in Pennsylvania to receive a marriage license.
McCarter noted to the Blade that HB 300 has received roughly 20 additional co-sponsors since he and Sims announced the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional that they plan to introduce a same-sex marriage bill. He said he hopes HB 300 will have 102 co-sponsors, which constitutes a majority, in the House of Representatives once it reconvenes on Sept. 23.
“We know there is no state so far that has passed marriage equality without having non-discrimination passed,” McCarter said. “Momentum is growing.”
Advocates across the state acknowledged the same-sex marriage bill is unlikely to pass, at least in the short term, because Republicans control both houses of the state legislature and Gov. Tom Corbett opposes nuptials for gays and lesbians.
“There’s a limited amount of resources [that] generally are better deployed in terms of those areas where the result can realistically be achieved,” said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Equality Forum.
Kathy Padilla, a transgender rights advocate in Philadelphia, noted 32 municipalities in Pennsylvania have passed LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances. Philadelphia adopted the state’s first gay-inclusive measure in the late 1970s, while the city of Harrisburg enacted Pennsylvania’s first trans-inclusive anti-discrimination resolution in 1983.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in May signed a measure that many activists have described as one of the country’s most expansive anti-LGBT discrimination laws.
“As we don’t have a statewide non-discrimination bill, pursuing judicial relief here doesn’t close off legislative opportunities or split communities in the same way as other states at all,” Padilla told the Blade, referring to the ACLU’s same-sex marriage lawsuit. “It leaves us all working for these same goals at the same time in different venues — together.”
Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, told the Blade that HB 300 remains a “top priority” for his organization.
He said a Pennsylvania hotel could still legally deny a same-sex couple a room on their wedding night. Martin noted a gay or lesbian Pennsylvanian could still be fired from their job if he or she places a picture of their husband or wife on their desk.
The commonwealth also lacks statewide protections for LGBT Pennsylvanians in housing.
“We have to look honestly at the complete picture,” Martin said. “The heat and conversation around marriage will really allow us to take a good look at how we treat LGBT Pennsylvanians.”
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.”
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.”
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