National
Same-sex marriages begin in New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie on Monday announced his administration will drop appeal of marriage ruling

Gov. Chris Christie on Monday announced his administration would no longer appeal a decision that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in his state. (Blade file photo by Michael Key).
“Chief Justice Rabner left no ambiguity about the unanimous court’s view on the ultimate decision in this matter when he wrote, ‘same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today,'” Christie spokesperson Colin Reed said, referring to the state Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on Friday that denied the governor’s request to postpone Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s Sept. 27 ruling that found the state’s civil unions law prevents same-sex couples from obtaining federal marriage benefits until the justices rule on his administration’s appeal of it. “Although the governor strongly disagrees with the court substituting its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a vote of the people, the court has now spoken clearly as to their view of the New Jersey Constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the law.”
Christie’s announcement comes hours after gays and lesbians began to exchange vows in the Garden State.
Lambertville City Councilwoman Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey, who in 2007 became the first same-sex couple to take advantage of New Jersey’s civil unions law, exchanged vows during a brief ceremony that Lambertville Mayor David DelVecchio officiated at midnight.
“We remained optimistic and hopeful that we would be able to get together and do the just thing, the right thing,” DelVecchio said. “Now we’re here.”
Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who defeated former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonehan last week to succeed the late-U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), officiated seven same-sex weddings at Newark City Hall shortly after Asaro and Schailey tied the knot. A heckler briefly interrupted the proceedings before security personnel escorted him out of the building.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop married eight gay and lesbian couples at Jersey City Hall after midnight.
Louise Walpin and Marsha Shapiro of Monmouth Junction, who filed a lawsuit seeking marriage rights in 2011 on which Jacobson ruled, exchanged vows at the home of state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) shortly after midnight. Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) walked the two women down the aisle.
Steven Goldstein, founder of Garden State Equality, an LGBT rights group, read a Jewish blessing.
14 states and D.C. now allow gays and lesbians to marry.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case that is expected to determine whether same-sex couples can legally marry throughout the state. LGBT rights advocates have filed lawsuits on behalf of gays and lesbians seeking to exchange vows in Pennsylvania and other states that include Virginia, Ohio, Nevada and New Mexico.
Illinois lawmakers this week are poised to potentially debate a measure that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Lawmakers in Hawaii will consider the issue in a special legislative session that begins on Oct. 28.
Oregon officials on Oct. 16 announced they would recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions.
Observers noted Christie had little choice but to drop his appeal of Jacobson’s decision.
“The handwriting was on the wall as clearly as it could possibly be,” Larry Lustberg, a lawyer who represented Walpin and Shapiro and the other plaintiffs in the 2011 case, told reporters on a conference call on Monday as he spoke about the state Supreme Court’s decision. “This was inevitable.”
Hayley Gorenberg of Lambda Legal said during the same conference call that the justices’ ruling is “the last word from the court and marriage equality is now the law in New Jersey.”
Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo applauded Christie’s decision to drop his appeal of Jacobson’s ruling.
“Governor Christie apparently knew he was fighting a losing battle in continuing to fight against marriage equality in the Garden State,” Angelo said in a statement. “Rather than engage in legal gymnastics, decided to plant himself on the right side of history. Log Cabin Republicans thanks Governor Christie for doing the right thing.”
National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown sharply criticized the state Supreme Court and Christie.
“The refusal of the New Jersey Supreme Court to order a stay of the same-sex ‘marriage’ ruling was wrong, and the latest example of an activist judiciary running amok, substituting their views for those of the people of the state,” he said. “Still, we are extremely disappointed in Gov. Chris Christie for withdrawing the state’s appeal of the underlying decision, effectively throwing in the towel on marriage. The mark of a leader is to walk a principled walk no matter the difficulty of the path. Chris Christie has failed the test, abandoning both voters and the core institution of society – marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
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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