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Celebrations mark Kameny’s 85th birthday & more

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Frank Kameny (Photo by Joe Tresh)

Celebrations mark Kameny’s 85th birthday

At least two events were set to take place this week to celebrate the 85th birthday of D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, who is credited with founding the LGBT rights movement locally and playing a key role in starting the modern gay rights movement nationwide.

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, which Kameny helped found in 1976, is hosting a reception in Kameny’s honor Friday, May 21, at the LGBT Community Center at 1810 14th St., N.W., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event was to include a special presentation on Kameny’s role in the D.C. LGBT community by fellow activist Paul Kunzler, another Stein Club founder.

A group of Kameny friends and fellow activists were scheduled to hold a separate event honoring his life’s work on behalf of gay rights on Thursday night at the Artist Inn Bed & Breakfast at 1824 R St., N.W., near Dupont Circle. The event, which was sponsored by Helping Our Brothers & Sisters, asked for donations from attendees to go toward a special Kameny fund that will “help support Frank Kameny in his later years of life,” according to an announcement of the event.

David Bradberry, a local activist and friend of Kameny, said local artist Don Patron, who was helping to organize the event, has made about a dozen oil paintings of Kameny. Bradberry said some were made from photos of Kameny taken in years past, including during his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. The paintings were to be sold in a silent auction at the event to help raise money for the Kameny fund.

“Kameny is the father of the modern gay movement, and his achievements are legend,” says the announcement.

“He was one of the leaders of the first gay rights demonstrations at the White House, State Department and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall — four years before Stonewall,” it says. “He founded or co-founded the D.C. chapters of the Mattachine Society and Gay Activists Alliance and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.”

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Marriage applications skyrocket in D.C.

The number of applications for a marriage license in the District of Columbia has continued to rise dramatically since licenses became available to same-sex couples in March.

According to Leah Gurowitz, a spokesperson for the D.C. Superior Court’s Marriage Bureau, as of May 18, the bureau received 2,213 marriage license applications since March 3, the day same-sex couples became eligible to apply for a marriage license.

Gurowitz said the Marriage Bureau doesn’t compile figures showing how many of the applications are from same-sex couples. But she said the 2,213 figure, which covers only a two-and-a-half-month period, can be compared to the 3,096 marriage license applications received by the bureau for the entire year in 2009.

“We can’t say that they are all same-sex couples,” said Aisha Mills, president of the Campaign for All D.C. Families, which successfully lobbied the City Council to pass the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. “But we can say that certainly this is the largest influx of applications they’ve had.”

Mills noted that she and her partner, who applied for a marriage license on March 3, encountered delays in scheduling a civil marriage ceremony at the courthouse.

“We were told the court had a backlog lasting through early June,” she said. “So for the first time ever, the court opened on a Saturday to perform ceremonies,” she said. “It was just one Saturday in late April, but it was the only time they have ever done that before to try to catch up.”

Gurowitz has said the backlog came about after far more same-sex couples applied for civil ceremonies at the courthouse than had been expected. She said steps have been taken to accommodate everyone that applies or a courthouse ceremony.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Capital Pride director to step down

The executive director of Capital Pride is planning to step down from her role following this year’s celebration.

Dyana Mason will leave Capital Pride Alliance at the end of July, when her contract expires, to pursue an advanced degree at the University of Southern California. Capital Pride Alliance announced Mason’s plans Friday.

Mason, who’s originally from California, is planning to pursue a doctorate in policy management.

Michael Lutz, president of the Capital Pride board of directors, said that while Mason “will be missed greatly, we also support and applaud her aspirations, and wish her the very best.”

“We were very fortunate to have Dyana with us as Capital Pride transitioned to its own self-perpetuating entity,” he said. “Her role as a servant-leader helped us to reach many of our growth goals earlier than expected.”

Capital Pride Alliance will post a formal job announcement to its web site, capitalpride.org, May 22. A selection process will take place over the summer, and Capital Pride Alliance aims to announce Mason’s successor this fall.

JOSHUA LYNSEN

Equality Virginia’s CEO resigns

The chief executive officer of Equality Virginia has resigned his position, according to a statement issued by the organization.

Jon Blair submitted his resignation April 30. Blair joined Equality Virginia in January 2009, notably taking the helm of an LGBT organization despite being straight.

Mark Board, chair of Equality Virginia’s board, said in the statement that Blair’s resignation was “unsolicited, unexpected and without notice.”

David Lampo, vice president of Virginia Log Cabin and a former Equality Virginia board member, said his understanding was Blair left Equality Virginia to take a job as campaign manager for Democratic Alaskan gubernatorial candidate Ethan Berkowitz.

According to the statement, Jean Segner, another Equality Virginia board member, will take up the role as interim CEO immediately and will serve without compensation.

Board said Equality Virginia is “fortunate to have board members ready to step up” to continue the work of the organization.

“The continuity of leadership offered by Jean Segner and our current staff ensures that [Equality Virginia] will continue to move forward effectively changing laws and changing lives,” Board said.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, Equality Virginia’s legislative strategist and general counsel, told the Blade the organization will be looking for a new CEO this summer after the membership of the board transition July 1.

“I suspect that the search process and all of that won’t … start until later this summer,” she said.

Lampo said those involved with the organization were “surprised and shocked” by Blair’s resignation.

“I think he did a reasonably good job given the constraints that a lot of organizations like that were under during the recession, with the substantially decreased funding, and decreased interest on the part of the GLBT community,” Lampo said.

Still, Lampo said Blair held a “political and partisan background” that affected his leadership at Equality Virginia.

“I think he always had trouble adjusting to the non-partisan atmosphere of an organization like Equality Virginia and the fact that he wasn’t down in the partisan trenches during election time,” Lampo said.

CHRIS JOHNSON

D.C. man guilty in anti-gay hate crime

A D.C. Superior Court jury last week rendered a guilty verdict for a bias-related assault and robbery against one of two men charged with attacking two teenagers in Southeast Washington in November.

The jury found Michael Cowan, 23, guilty of one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of assault with significant injury, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Both charges were considered bias-related.

The statement says witnesses observed Cowan calling one of the two victims, a 17-year-old male, a “faggot” during the attack. The second victim was a 19-year-old male, according to the statement.

The jury found a second defendant, Vernon Long, 25, guilty of robbery and assault-related offenses, but acquitted him of the government’s allegation that the two charges were bias-related.

The statement says the incident began the day before Thanksgiving as the two victims were leaving a convenience store along the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E. It says the two defendants attacked the victims from behind and demanded they turn over their jackets.

“While the second victim was huddled in the fetal position on the ground, Cowan and Long, along with accomplices, repeatedly punched and kicked the second victim in the face and body,” says the statement. “As the attack continued, Cowan (and possibly others n the group) repeatedly called the second victim a ‘faggot.’”

Both defendants face a possible sentence of more than 10 years in prison, and Cowan faces greater jail time under an enhanced sentencing provision in the city’s hate crimes law.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

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Virginia

Walkinshaw wins Democratic primary in Va. 11th Congressional District

Special election winner will succeed Gerry Connolly

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James Walkinshaw(Photo public domain)

On Saturday, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary for the special election that will determine who will represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.

The special election is being held following the death of the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represented the district from 2008 until 2024, when he announced his retirement, and subsequently passed away from cancer in May.

Walkinshaw is not unknown to Virginia’s 11th District — he has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020 and had served as Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019. Before he passed away, Connolly had endorsed Walkinshaw to take his place, claiming that choosing Walkinshaw to be his chief of staff was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

The Democratic nominee has run his campaign on mitigating Trump’s “dangerous” agenda of dismantling the federal bureaucracy, which in the district is a major issue as many of the district’s residents are federal employees and contractors.

“I’m honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said on X. “This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.”

In addition to protecting federal workers, Walkinshaw has a long list of progressive priorities — some of which include creating affordable housing, reducing gun violence, expanding immigrant protections, and “advancing equality for all” by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Fair Housing Act.

Various democratic PACs contributed more than $2 million to Walkinshaw’s ad campaigns, much of which touted his connection to Connolly.

Walkinshaw will face Republican Stewart Whitson in the special election in September, where he is the likely favorite to win.

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Maryland

LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline option is going away. Here’s where else to go in Md.

Changes will take effect July 17

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(Bigstock photo by Mihailo K)

By ANNA RUBENSTEIN | The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer offer specialized support to LGBTQ people, starting July 17, the Trump administration announced last week.

Dialing the hotline at 988 will still be available for crisis support. But callers will no longer be able to reach specific LGBTQ services by pressing Option 3. The change worries advocates because their data shows the LGBTQ community has a disproportionally high suicide rate.

Even after the option ends, here’s how to receive tailored support if you’re in Maryland.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Silver Spring holds annual Pride In The Plaza

‘Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience’

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A scene from Pride in the Plaza in Silver Spring, Md. on Sunday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Silver Spring’s annual Pride in the Plaza event took place on Sunday to celebrate the LGBTQ community and emphasize inclusion and resilience.

“Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience, love,” Robyn Woods, program and outreach director for Live In Your Truth, which organized the event, said. “I mean, just being surrounded by the community and so many great entrepreneurs, business owners, and just being a part of this whole rainbow coalition that we call the LGBTQIA to be about.”

With the event being her first time organizing for Live In Your Truth, Woods said she felt emotional to see the support and love at the event.

“Some people (are) bringing out their children, their babies, their grandparents,” Woods said. “It’s a lot more allies here than anything else. That type of support to me means so much more than just support from my community; just outside support, inside support, so much support around it, so much love. Everyone’s smiling outside, helping each other.” 

Attendees of the event were able to head over to the Family Fun Zone, an air-conditioned Pride Cool Down Lounge, or watch live drag performances in the main stage area. 

Along with entertainment and a shaved-ice stand, rows of information tables stood along the plaza, including FreeState Justice, the Washington Spirit, Trans Maryland, Moco Pride Center, and the Heartwood Program, an organization that offers support, therapy, education, and resources to the LGBTQ community. 

“I want people to know about our services, and I love what we have to offer,” Jessica Simon, psychotherapist for Heartwood Program’s Gender Wellness Clinic, said. “I (also) want to be part of a celebration with the community, and so it feels good to be here with other people who have something they want to give to the community.”

She added that within today’s political climate, to which she called an “antidote to shame,” it’s important to be celebrating Pride. 

“There’s a lot of demonization of LGBTQI people,” Siena Iacuvazzi, facilitator for Maryland Trans Unity, said. “(Pride) is part of the healing process.” 

Iacuvazzi said she was taught to be ashamed of who she was growing up, but being a part of a community helped her flourish in the future. 

“I was taught how to hate myself. I was taught that I was an abomination to God,” she said. “But being a community is like understanding that there are people who have experienced the same thing, and they’re flourishing. They’re flourishing because they’re willing to stand up for themselves as human beings and discover themselves and understand what’s true for themselves.”

She added that Pride allows for a mutual understanding to take place. 

“It’s more of a sense of belonging … and just taking that home and understanding you’re not alone,” Iacuvazzi said. “We’re each taking our own journey — we’re not putting that on each other. It’s just walking away with a sense of belonging and humanity.”

Similar to Iacuvazzi, Woods said she hopes attendees’ biggest takeaways would be family, fun, resilience, and pride. 

“Being proud of yourself, being happy for who you are, and representation and how much it matters,” she continued. “And I think all these young people that are walking around here get to see versions of themselves, but older. They get to see so many different lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual people that are successful, that are showing love, that care, and it’s not how we’re portrayed in the media. It’s lovely to see it out here. (It’s) like we’re one big old, happy family.”

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