Tag: Pennsylvania

Federal court rejects Trump Justice Department’s effort to access trans kids’ medical records

Read more at the Advocate.

Transgender youth in Pennsylvania and their families are celebrating a significant legal victory. A federal court in Philadelphia has rebuffed the Department of Justice’s sweeping attempt to obtain highly personal medical records from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia about children receiving gender-affirming care.

On Friday, federal district Judge Mark A. Kearney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued an order quashing DOJ subpoena demands for names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and clinical notes covering minors treated since January 2020. The court found the government “lacks statutory authority for a rambling exploration of the Hospital’s files to learn the names and medical treatment of children.”

Families in Pennsylvania had filed separate motions to quash subpoenas issued by the Trump administration in July that alleged fraud in gender-affirming care. As The Advocate reported, the subpoenas demanded exhaustive data on minors, including “intake forms, consent paperwork, and parental authorizations for puberty blockers and hormone therapy.”

Kearney’s decision reaffirms that the records in question concern lawful medical treatment governed under Pennsylvania law, and that children’s and families’ constitutional privacy interests “far outweigh” the government’s asserted investigative needs. The ruling also criticizes the DOJ’s shifting justifications, noting that at one point the government “replaced” and reminding that “false statements may be subject to a perjury investigation.”

The ruling arrives amid a broader national crackdown on gender-affirming care by the Trump administration, which in July announced more than 20 subpoenas to clinics and hospitals across multiple states. The American Medical Association and other major professional organizations had already pushed back, affirming such treatments as evidence-based and lifesaving.

For advocates and legal counsel representing the children, the decision is a vindication of long-held concerns about governmental overreach. “This is a critical win for everyone who believes healthcare decisions should be made in doctors’ offices, not the White House,” Mimi McKenzie of the Public Interest Law Center said in a press release. Attorney Jill Steinberg of the law firm Ballard Spahr added that the decision signals to transgender youth and their families that they “do not have to fight these battles alone.”

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20 police raided a gay bar for a “compliance check.” Then the patrons did something surprising.

*This is being reported by LGBTQ Nation.

In a moment of resistance and queer solidarity, a drag show went on despite patrons and performers being kicked out of a bar by about 20 police officers in bulletproof vests.

Police raided Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ venue P Town Bar on Friday in the middle of a drag event.

Drag artist Indica was performing alongside trans model and nightlife legend Amanda Lepore when police began to gather in the back of the establishment, QBurgh reported. When Indica finished her rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” police directed patrons to exit the bar but did not explain why beyond saying it was a “compliance check.”

“We waited 30 minutes outside for them to inspect every crevice,” Indica told QBurgh. But the patrons and performers refused to let the cops quash their spirit and instead created their own public performance space.

Video captured during the wait shows the crowd belting Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club while Indica dances up and down the sidewalk, collecting tips.

“Guess what, divas?” she said when the performance ended. “This is why queer people have gotta stick the f*ck together in 2025… Make some noise for the queer people in your life everybody.” The crowd cheered.

QBurgh described the moment as one of “resistance, solidarity, and improvisational beauty” and one that “reminded everyone there that drag isn’t just entertainment, it’s political. And when the music stops, the queens don’t.”

Police proceeded to allow 70 people to reenter the bar, saying it had been over capacity with the 130 people who were in attendance.

“The raid was a jarring experience in 2025,” one witness said. “Dozens of state police, geared up with bulletproof vests, flooded the bar and told us to get out. None of the officers would explain what was happening. We stood in the rain for maybe 30 minutes or so until most patrons were let back in. Fortunately the situation was calm and orderly, but they really just overtook this queer space with an entire fleet of police to ‘count heads’ or whatever their excuse was.”

Corey Dunbar, a security guard for P Town Bar, praised the way the staff handled the incident, saying they “ensured patrons’ safety and nerves during the process” since “many people were shaken up.”

State police told QBurgh the raid was instigated by the Allegheny County Nuisance Bar Task Force. It is not known who made the initial complaint that led the cops there.

Witnesses said officers would not look the queens in the eye and would not answer their questions about why things like this never happen at straight bars. Indica also said that some officers even asked to take selfies with Lepore.

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Lawsuit aims to strike down LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections in Pennsylvania

*This is being reported by the AP and NBC.

 Two public school districts and several parents have sued the state in a bid to undo anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Pennsylvania, saying that the two-year-old regulation is illegal because it goes beyond what lawmakers intended or allowed.

The lawsuit, filed in the statewide Commonwealth Court late Thursday, comes amid a debate in Pennsylvania and nationally over the rights of transgender high school athletes to compete in women’s sports.

If the lawsuit is successful, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission would no longer be able to investigate complaints about discrimination involving sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The plaintiffs’ lawyers also say a favorable ruling in court would bar transgender student athletes from competing in women’s high school sports in Pennsylvania.

The plaintiffs include two districts — South Side Area and Knoch, both in western Pennsylvania — and two Republican state lawmakers, Reps. Aaron Bernstine and Barbara Gleim, as well as three parents and seven students.

The lawsuit names Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which investigates complaints about discrimination because of someone’s race, sex, religion, age or disability in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Shapiro’s office said it had no immediate comment Friday and the commission did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the lawsuit Friday.

The lawsuit is aimed at the definition of sex discrimination that the commission expanded by regulation to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

The regulation was approved in late 2022 by a separate regulatory gatekeeper agency, and it took effect in 2023.

The plaintiffs contend that the state Supreme Court has interpreted the term “sex” as used in the Pennsylvania Constitution to mean either male or female.

They also contend that the state Legislature never gave permission to the Human Relations Commission to write regulations expanding the legal definition of sex discrimination, making the regulation a violation of the Legislature’s constitutional authority over lawmaking.

The commission has justified the expanded definition by saying that state courts have held that Pennsylvania’s anti-discrimination laws are to be interpreted consistently with federal anti-discrimination law. The commission can negotiate settlements between parties or impose civil penalties, such as back pay or damages.

For years, Democratic lawmakers tried to change the law to add the terms sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the portfolio of complaints that the Human Relations Commission could investigate. Every time, Republican lawmakers blocked the effort.

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Ground broken for LGBTQ-focused senior housing in Pittsburgh

*This was published by The Advocate

Ground has been broken in Pittsburgh for what will be the first LGBTQ-focused senior housing complex in western Pennsylvania and the second in the state overall.

Groundbreaking took place Thursday for the Mosaic Apartments in the city’s Oakland neighborhood, which is home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, along with museums, health care providers, and an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants. The 48-unit complex will open in the fall of 2025, according to local media.

The affordable housing development is a project of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, which was approached about seven years ago by the Persad Center, a provider of LGBTQ-affirming mental health services.

“One of their staff members said, ‘Can you build us an apartment building?’ It was a beautiful opportunity for us to enhance our mission and help a greatly underserved and often discriminated-against population,” Jim Pieffer, president and CEO of Presbyterian SeniorCare, told TV station WTAE.

Presbyterian SeniorCare raised $30 million for the complex but was able to acquire the land for free thanks to the University of Pittsburgh and its medical center, Pieffer told another station, KDKA.

Persad Center CEO Martin Healey told KDKA that LGBTQ+ people sometimes encounter problems in senior housing. “It’s scary — you sometimes have to go back into the closet,” he said. “There’s not necessarily a safe space all the time. … We’ve seen situations where they have fear and have isolation and loneliness that hopefully this type of place will break.”

“My hope is that this is the start of something far bigger and far greater for our community, not just here in Pittsburgh, but more across the country,” he added.

By 2030, there will be 7 million LGBTQ+ seniors in the U.S., SAGE National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging estimates.

Prospective Mosaic Apartments residents can begin applying next March.

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The 10 Best—and Cheapest—Cities for LGBTQ Homebuyers, 2022 – REALTOR.com

This blog originally appeared at Realtor.com

Pride Month means it’s time to celebrate all things that encourage the dignity, equality, and increased recognition of the LGBTQ community. So go ahead and wave that big, beautiful rainbow flag—and, just maybe, zero in on a place to buy a great new home.

It’s also the perfect time to pause and recognize that while the United States has come a long way from the 1969 Stonewall riots, which sparked the modern gay rights movement, 2022 is on track to break the record for the number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in states across the country, with at least 320 highly restrictive bills pending in state legislatures, according to the rights group Freedom for All Americans.

So, as we do each year, Realtor.com® searched for the most LGBTQ-friendly and affordable cities for homebuyers. We looked well past the big coastal cities famous for their thriving gay scenes—and wildly exorbitant home prices—like New York and San Francisco. Instead, we set our sights on smaller cities that are gay-friendly and budget-friendly, where housing is still modestly priced and the overall community and laws are more welcoming and favorable to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. All of these places have tons of fun things to do—and prices that are still (relatively) within reach.

Read Full Article – https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-most-affordable-lgbtq-friendly-places-to-live/

If you’re ready to look for a better state or county for you and your family (or family of choice), reach out to us at www.FleeRedStates.com

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