National
Court rules for same-sex couple denied housing by Colo. landlord
Judge determines anti-gay discrimination amounts to sex stereotyping
Tonya and Rachel Smith were denied housing in Colorado, but a judge found that violated the Fair Housing Act. (Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal)
A federal judge has ruled for a same-sex couple who alleged discrimination after a Colorado landlord refused to grant them housing, issuing relief on the basis the discrimination they faced amounted to unlawful sex stereotyping.
In a 12-page decision, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore, an Obama appointee, ruled Wednesday the Boulder County property owner violated the Fair Housing Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act by denying housing to Rachel, who’s transgender, and Tonya Smith. The couple were married seven years ago and have two children, ages seven and three.
The couple, represented by Lambda Legal, argued the landlord, Deepika Avanti, discriminated against them for failing to conform to gender stereotypes violates the prohibition on sex discrimination in the Fair Housing Act.
“The Court agrees,” Moore ruled. “Such stereotypical norms are no different from other stereotypes associated with women, such as the way she should dress or act (e.g., that a woman should not be overly aggressive, or should not act macho), and are products of sex stereotyping.”
Moore also grants relief on the basis the landlord’s denial of housing to the couple violates a state law in Colorado prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and familial status.
Although the couple made the case the Fair Housing Act was violated explicitly because of the transgender status of Rachel and the couple’s sexual orientation, Moore declined to accept this argument.
“The Court declines to do so for two reasons,” Moore writes. “First, the Motion as to Count I is based on sex stereotyping, and Count I’s reliance on sex stereotype as ‘discrimination based on sex’ did not include such allegations. Second, Count I also relies on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, but the Motion was not based on such theories. To the extent Plaintiffs are attempting to bootstrap such other theories onto their sex stereotype theory, the Court declines to consider something not pled.”
The decision comes on the heels of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that determined sexual-orientation discrimination in the workplace violates the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964.
Had the district court in Colorado adopted the same idea, it would have been the first to determine the prohibition on sex discrimination under Fair Housing Act also bars discrimination in housing on the basis of sexual orientation.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, staff attorney for Lambda Legal and attorney for the couple, nonetheless said in a statement the decision is a “tremendous victory” for LGBT people because it found anti-LGBT discrimination stems from sex stereotyping.
“For the first time, a federal court has ruled that the Fair Housing Act’s sex discrimination prohibitions apply to discrimination based on stereotypes about sexual orientation and gender identity,” Gonzalez-Pagan said. “This is two federal courts two days in a row that have said that laws prohibiting sex discrimination protect LGBT people. It sends a strong message: discrimination against LGBT Americans in housing and employment is illegal and will not be tolerated.”
In 2015, Tonya and Rachel Smith sought to rent a two-bedroom home in Gold Hill, Colo., along with their children. Although Avanti expressed a willingness to rent the home to the family, that changed after she met the couple in person.
Avanti allegedly wrote to the couple in an email after meeting them and declined to offer the house to them based on the couple’s “uniqueness” and a fear it would jeopardize her standing in the community.
“Your unique relationship would become the town focus, in small towns everyone talks and gossips, all of us would be the most popular subject of town, in this way I could not be a low profile,” Avanti wrote.
In a statement, Tonya Smith said the couple is “delighted with this ruling” because of hardship the couple had to endure in their search for housing.
“We were so shocked and upset by Deepika’s emails, that simply because of who we are she wouldn’t rent to us,” Tonya Smith said. “We felt it was unfair and illegal, and now a court has agreed. No one should ever have to go through what we went through, and hopefully this ruling will protect other couples like us who are trying to provide safe homes for their families.”
The prayer of relief sought by the couple was a determination Avanti’s actions violated both federal and state law; an order enjoining the landlord from future discrimination and requiring her to complete a fair housing training; and payment for compulsory and punitive damages as well as litigation costs.
Gonzalez-Pagan said in a statement the decision serves as evidence housing discrimination is a pervasive problem for LGBT people, but “very much underreported.”
“In many instances, LGBT people who are either overtly or subtly discriminated against in housing do not report the discrimination because of their immediate need to find housing or due to the costs of pursuing a claim,” Gonzalez-Pagan said. “Property owners who engage in this kind of discrimination must be held accountable.”
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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