National
Year ahead filled with promise, pitfalls
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent comment that her 2010 agenda wouldn’t include controversial votes unless the Senate acts first has disappointed some LGBT lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
There are several LGBT-related bills pending at the federal level, including repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the enactment of employment non-discrimination and extending benefits to the same-sex partners of federal workers.
But the closest to a sure thing will be Congress permitting D.C.’s recently passed same-sex marriage law to stand. Lobbyists on both sides of the issue have said it’s unlikely that the Democratic-controlled Congress would move to derail the law.
Meanwhile, action could come on the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act for federal workers with same-sex partners, a priority for Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
The bill was reported out of a Senate committee with support from ranking Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), which lobbyists saw as a sign it would get the necessary support to pass in the Senate if allowed a vote. The bill has 26 Senate co-sponsors. U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry is expected to provide offset savings in his department early this year, a necessary precursor to the bill’s Senate floor vote.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, meanwhile, has been subject to significant lobbying with high expectations in 2010. Frank previously told the Washington Blade that he expected a vote on the issue “no later than February.”
One gay Republican group said those plans might have hit a snag, however, after Pelosi told freshmen members that House-initiated controversial votes wouldn’t happen in 2010.
“This shows the Democratic leadership has no interest in fulfilling the commitments they made to the LGBT community,” said Charles Moran, a Log Cabin Republicans spokesperson.
The Republican group’s highest priority is repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and Moran said members have become increasingly frustrated with President Obama over the issue. Moran said Log Cabin’s supporters in 2010 will lobby for the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal to be included in the 2011 defense authorization bill.
Separately, Moran said Log Cabin members are hoping that a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will succeed. The case, which argues that declaring sexual orientation is a protected form of free speech, will see its next hearing in April.
Another effort to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, currently has 186 co-sponsors in the House and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. The bill would repeal the ban on openly gay service members and replace it with a non-discrimination policy.
Major federal bills making their way through the legislative process this year are poised to include some LGBT-related provisions.
At DC Agenda deadline, a pending health care reform package was expected to extend recognition of LGBT health issues in several areas, such as research categories. And efforts are ongoing to make LGBT concerns a part of immigration reform, despite the lack of such language in the initial bill.
The Uniting American Families Act, which would recognize same-sex partners for immigration purposes, has 118 co-sponsors in the House and 23 co-sponsors in the Senate. It has stalled in a House subcommittee and Senate committee; it’s unclear how prominently the bill will figure into this year’s immigration debate.
Also unclear is how much closer federal officials will come this year to recognizing the rights of same-sex couples. The Respect for
Marriage Act, an effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act that was introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), has 107 House co-sponsors. Nadler recently told DC Agenda he doesn’t expect the bill to pass this year.
Meanwhile, LGBT advocacy organizations have started looking at the November elections to advance their priorities and politicians of choice.
State and local elections of interest include the governor’s races in Maryland, California and New York. Also, all 62 state Senate seats in New York will be up for grabs, and last year’s failed same-sex marriage vote could figure into some of the races.
“Stonewall Democrats’ hope for 2010 is that the LGBT community now understands acutely — after stinging defeats like the one in the New York Senate and in the governor’s mansions in New Jersey and Virginia — that electing pro-equality Democrats is an essential part of fighting for equal rights,” said Michael Mitchell, executive director of Stonewall Democrats.
“We need more people in office who refuse to engage in the politics of fear and instead govern from a place where equality means everyone, and we hope that in 2010, more LGBT people will join the fight to put them there.”
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund was upbeat about the role that LGBT voices would play in the 2010 elections, noting that more than 100 openly LGBT candidates are slated for endorsement and assistance.
“The bulk of our candidates will be at the state level, but we’ve already endorsed one candidate for Congress: Steve Pougnet, who is running against [Republican U.S. Rep.] Mary Bono Mack,” said Denis Dison, a Victory Fund vice president.
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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