National
Efforts to pass federal LGBTQ protections boosted with $6.5 million donation
Donations seek to duplicate success of marriage-equality movement


Efforts to pass a measure expanding the prohibition on discrimination against LGBTQ people under federal law have gotten a big boost with a nearly $6.5 million donation from a coalition of non-profits for an education campaign, the Washington Blade has learned exclusively.
The San Francisco-based Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund coordinated the grants, which seek to duplicate the success of the movement that achieved same-sex marriage nationwide to enact federal non-discrimination protections this year.
The contributions are intended “to educate the public and policymakers about the need for a federal response to anti-LGBTQ discrimination,” according to a statement.
“It’s long past time for the federal government to respond to the profound harms caused by pervasive discrimination against LGBT people,” Cathy Cha, CEO of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund said in a statement.
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund for more than two decades has been at the forefront of supporting LGBTQ rights, including non-discrimination protections. It was the first foundation to embrace same-sex marriage as a priority and contributed more than $39 million to the marriage equality movement, according to a statement.
Other groups that have contributed to the $6.5 million in donations are the Gill Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Horizons Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, the Pride Foundation and other philanthropic institutions. The contribution builds on the $1 million the Gill Foundation gave in support at the start of this year.
Scott Miller, co-chair of the Gill Foundation, said in a statement “the funders and advocates who helped win the right to marry for LGBTQ people have joined forces again and expanded our coalition in pursuit of equality for all Americans.”
“This alliance speaks to the unprecedented opportunity – and the long overdue need – to make sure everyone in this country is equal under the law,” Miller added.
The donations are announced as LGBTQ rights supporters are seeking to pass the Equality Act in Congress. The measure has cleared the House, but faces an uncertain future in the U.S. Senate, where 10 Republicans would be needed to overcome a filibuster.
The contributions, however, aren’t directed at passing the Equality Act per se because the contributors are 501(c)3 tax-exempt foundations and are unable to endorse any particular piece of legislation. The campaign is more generally geared toward supporting a solution for non-discrimination protections at the federal level.
Groups specifically seeking to pass the Equality Act, however, praised the $6.5 million as a welcome addition to the effort.
Kasey Suffredini, CEO of Freedom for All Americans, said in a statement the LGBTQ community is “closer than it has ever been to completing its nearly 50-year pursuit of nationwide nondiscrimination protections for all LGBTQ people.”
“Since the first federal non-discrimination measure was introduced in Congress in 1974, the generous contributions of foundations and major donors have powered our ability to show our fellow Americans who we are and challenges we face, opening hearts and changing minds in the process,” Suffredini said. “With a very short window to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity, we are grateful again to these philanthropists for rising to the moment to carry our community over the finish line.”
In terms of where the money is going exactly, one-third of the Fund’s grants have been made to national organizations, including $800,000 to Freedom for All Americans Education Fund.
Additionally, money will go toward “empowering constituents to have conversations with lawmakers in more than 12 states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas,” according to a statement. State groups are seen as key in the effort to convince moderate senators to support an LGBTQ non-discrimination measure.
Tyler Deaton, senior adviser of the American Unity Fund, echoed the praise for the donations. In addition to supporting the Equality Act, his organization is pushing for the Fairness for All Act, the Republican compromise measure for LGBTQ rights and religious freedom.
“This is the best moment we’ve ever had to win full freedom for LGBTQ Americans, and we can win as long as we come together with allies all across the political spectrum and respectfully address everyone’s reasonable concerns,” Deaton said.
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports
27 states have passed laws limiting participation in athletics programs

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear two cases involving transgender youth challenging bans prohibiting them from participating in school sports.
In Little v. Hecox, plaintiffs represented by the ACLU, Legal Voice, and the law firm Cooley are challenging Idaho’s 2020 ban, which requires sex testing to adjudicate questions of an athlete’s eligibility.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals described the process in a 2023 decision halting the policy’s enforcement pending an outcome in the litigation. The “sex dispute verification process, whereby any individual can ‘dispute’ the sex of any female student athlete in the state of Idaho,” the court wrote, would “require her to undergo intrusive medical procedures to verify her sex, including gynecological exams.”
In West Virginia v. B.P.J., Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Cooley are representing a trans middle school student challenging the Mountain State’s 2021 ban on trans athletes.
The plaintiff was participating in cross country when the law was passed, taking puberty blockers that would have significantly reduced the chances that she could have a physiological advantage over cisgender peers.
“Like any other educational program, school athletic programs should be accessible for everyone regardless of their sex or transgender status,” said Joshua Block, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project. “Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do — to learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and to simply have fun with their friends,” Block said.
He added, “Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth. We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play.”
“Our client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers,” said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli. “Everyone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization, and myriad other benefits.”
Borelli continued, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling allowing B.P.J. to continue participating in track events. That well-reasoned decision should stand the test of time, and we stand ready to defend it.”
Shortly after taking control of both legislative chambers, Republican members of Congress tried — unsuccessfully — to pass a national ban like those now enforced in 27 states since 2020.
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.”
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