National
US to recognize citizenship of married couples’ children born abroad
Same-sex couples sued State Department to change policy

The State Department on Tuesday announced it will recognize the U.S. citizenship of a married couple’s child who is born outside the country if one of their parents is an American citizen.
“Children born abroad to parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen and who are married to each other at the time of the birth, will be U.S. citizens from birth if they have a genetic or gestational tie to at least one of their parents and meet the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act)’s other requirements,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. “Previously, the department’s interpretation and application of the INA required that children born abroad have a genetic or gestational relationship to a U.S. citizen parent.”
“This updated interpretation and application of the INA takes into account the realities of modern families and advances in ART (assisted reproductive technology) from when the Act was enacted in 1952,” added Price.
“This change will allow increased numbers of married couples to transmit U.S. citizenship to their children born overseas, while continuing to follow the citizenship transmission requirements established in the INA,” he said. “Requirements for children born to unmarried parents remain unchanged.”
Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg, a gay couple from Atlanta, sued the State Department after it refused to recognize the U.S. citizenship of their daughter, Simone Mize-Gregg, who was born in England via surrogate. The couple in a statement that Lambda Legal, who represented them in their case, sent to the Washington Blade on Tuesday said they are “extremely pleased to see the State Department take this long-overdue step.”
“We are so happy that children like our daughter will no longer be denied recognition of their U.S. citizenship at birth because their parents are of the same-sex or they were born through surrogacy,” said Mize and Gregg. “No family should have to go through the anguish, stress, and indignity we went through. It was deeply traumatizing to have our own government refuse to recognize our child as a U.S. citizen because we are a gay couple.”
Immigration Equality represents Allison Blixt and Stefania Zaccari, a lesbian couple who sued the State Department after it denied U.S. citizenship to their son.
Blixt, a U.S. citizen, and Zaccari, who was born in Italy, were living in London in 2015 when their son, Lucas Zaccari-Blixt, was born. The two women’s civil partnership became a marriage under British law in 2015.
“We are relieved and thankful that our fight for our family to be recognized by the government has finally ended,” said Blixt in an Immigration Equality press release. “We knew we would succeed eventually, as trailblazers before us fought and won marriage equality.”
“Our marriage is finally recognized and treated equally,” she added. “Lucas, who made me a mother, is will finally be treated as my son and recognized as American, as his brother always has been.”
Immigration Equality Executive Director Aaron Morris in his organization’s press release described the announcement as “a remarkable moment for all the LGBTQ families who fought the U.S. State Department’s unconstitutional policy.” Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Omar Gonzalez-Pagan agreed.
“Lambda Legal applauds the State Department’s decision in response to change its policy and start recognizing the U.S. citizenship of children of married same-sex couples born abroad,” said Gonzalez-Pagan in a press release. “The prior policy was unlawful and discriminatory, as recognized by courts in multiple cases, including two cases we won just last year.”
“We are pleased to see this resolution, as this welcome change respects the marriages and families of same-sex couples as is required by our laws and constitution,” added Gonzalez-Pagan.
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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