Politicians, LGBTQ activists, and allies gathered at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday following the ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti. The Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents in a 6-3 decision.

A rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court was called for by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and other organizations following the high court ruling on Wednesday. However, due to a thunderstorm and flood watch, the scores of activists who were to attend the rally were directed to a Lutheran church down the street from the court. Undeterred, activists and community leaders were joined by U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) for an indoor rally at the church.

“We know that freedom is not inevitable,” Markey told the crowd. “It is fought for by people who said ‘no’ in the face of health cuts, ‘no’ in the face of discrimination, ‘no’ in the face of invasive laws that ban life-saving and life-affirming healthcare and ‘no’ to this anti-justice, anti-freedom agenda.”

Also speaking at the rally was Deirdre Schifeling, chief political advocacy officer of the National ACLU.

“We believe transgender rights matter,” Schifeling stated. “Transgender kids matter and deserve love, support and the freedom to shape their own futures. I am still processing how the Supreme Court could disagree with such an obvious truth.”

“Today’s ruling shows us that unfortunately these attacks on our freedom will not end here,” Schifeling continued. “The Trump administration and extremist politicians across the country are continuing to target our right — our human right — to control our own bodies.”

“If politicians think that we are going to sit back and be defeated, that we are going to let them strip our rights and freedoms away without a fight, they’ve got another think coming,” Schifeling said. “We will never back down. We will never back down or give up. We will organize, we will mobilize and we will fight to protect trans rights in our communities, in our legislatures, in our elections, and in court rooms across the country.”

“Today, the highest court in this land decided that the bodily autonomy of trans youth, specifically trans youth of Tennessee and states with bans harming youth across the country do not matter,” said trans advocate Hope Giselle-Godsey.

“The opponents of trans equality think that today is a victory, but history will remember it as a moment that sharpened us and not silenced us,” Giselle-Godsey continued.

“So yes, today we grieve for the people in those states where those bans exist, but we grieve in motion,” Giselle-Godsey said. “To the system that thinks that it won today, just like every other time before: you will lose again. Because we won’t bow to hatred: we outlive it. We out-organize it. We out-love it. We are still here and we are not finished yet.”

The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Lifeblood) has announced it will lift its ban on sexually active LGBTQ people from donating blood.

The Star Observer, an Australian LGBTQ newspaper, on Wednesday reported “gay and bisexual men and transgender women” were previously not “able to donate plasma if they had been sexually active with men in the last three months.” The ban will end on July 14.

“Lifeblood has been working to make blood and plasma donation more inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible, whilst maintaining the safety of the blood supply,” said Lifeblood on Wednesday in a press release that announced the new policy.

“In the first of the rule changes, from Monday, July 14, 2025, Lifeblood will remove most sexual activity wait times for plasma donations,” it added. “Under this world-leading ‘plasma pathway,’ most people, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone who takes PrEP will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria. Extensive research and modeling show that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change.”

“Once implemented, all donors will be asked the same questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their gender or sexuality, and most people in a sexual relationship of six months or more with a single partner will be eligible to donate blood,” notes Lifeblood’s press release. “In addition, most people with new or multiple partners will also be able to donate blood if they have not had anal sex in the last three months. The change will bring an end to men being asked if they’ve had sex with another man.”

Lifeblood Chief Medical Officer Jo Pink said the new policy will allow 24,000 additional people to donate blood each year.

“We’re excited to be able to welcome more people from across the community into our donor centers from next month,” said Pink.

Let Us Give and other advocacy groups for years had urged Lifeblood to allow LGBTQ people to donate blood without restrictions.

“We thank the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and Lifeblood for removing a ban that limited the supply of safe whole blood and stigmatized gay men, and bisexual men and trans women who have sex with men, as a threat to public health,” said Let Us Give spokesperson Rodney Croome.