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Md. Senate passes marriage bill

House of Delegates plans hearing Friday; their vote key to measure’s progress

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In what activists are calling a historic development, the Maryland Senate Thursday evening voted 25-21 to pass the Civil Marriage Protection Act, a bill that would allow same-sex couples in the state to wed.

The bill now goes to the House of Delegates, where most political observers say it will pass within the next two weeks. Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he will sign the bill if it gets to him.

The vote to give final approval of the bill came shortly after the Senate voted 30-17 to limit debate to 30 additional minutes each for supporters and opponents.

In a development that surprised some observers, senators didn’t use all of that time, prompting Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert and Prince George’s Counties) to order a roll call vote on the bill.

The vote was identical to a preliminary vote on the bill held the previous day in terms of those voting for and against it except that one senator who voted no in the preliminary vote — Joanne Benson (D-Prince George’s County) — was absent for the final vote.

“I’ve never been prouder to be a Maryland State senator than I am tonight,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), a sponsor of the bill and the designated floor leader for the bill’s backers.

“I just want to say that for me, the issue is summarized by this thought: It is a fundamental wrong to deny our citizens a fundamental right,” he said.

Raskin and Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil and Harford Counties), the Senate’s minority leader, each praised their fellow senators on both sides of the issue for keeping the debate civil and dignified.

But Jacobs, who acknowledged she expects the House of Delegates to follow suit and pass the bill shortly, told her colleague in a floor speech that the issue won’t end with the legislature’s approval of the measure the governor’s signature.

Pointing to one of her colleagues who raised the issue of a voter referendum in Maryland on same-sex marriage, Jacobs said, “Well, when we knew we did not have the votes, that’s what we started investing our time in.”

“We’ve met with people all around the country who have run successful referendums on this issue,” she said. “And I just guarantee the people in the State of Maryland who feel very strongly about this issue that you will see it again and you will see it at the ballot box.”

Discussion of the bill in the House of Delegates is set to begin Friday with a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee that lawmakers say is likely to be far more rancorous than the relatively gentile debate tonight and Wednesday in the Senate.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, State Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), who is gay, urged his colleagues to afford him and his partner, along with thousands of same-sex couples in the state, the right to marry during the second day of debate on a same-sex marriage bill.

Madaleno was one of about a dozen senators who spoke today for or against the  measure. Observers expect it will win approval by the full legislature this spring.

Madaleno noted that the bill “reiterates that no religious denomination will ever be required to recognize or perform or bless or celebrate any marriage that is against its belief.”

At the same time the measure would provide “full equality under the law for thousands of same-gender couples in our state, couples like Mark and myself” through civil marriage, he said.

“Many of you know Mark … my partner. But even using that term partner sounds a little odd,” he said, noting that the two had a church wedding ten years ago with friends and family members attending.

“He in my heart is my spouse, even though the laws in the State of Maryland do not say he is,” Madaleno said during a Senate floor speech.

“But to the law, he remains a legal stranger to me. He is my partner. I wouldn’t ask any of you to call your spouse your partner because that makes it sound as if he’s your business associate, that your spouse is your business associate and not the person you choose to spend your life with.”

Opponents of the bill, including Sen. Brian Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel County), argued that the bill would “redefine” marriage and damage it as an institution that serves as the foundation of all societies.

“Unintended consequences — that is the subplot of today’s vote,” Simonaire said. “Yes, this bill affects homosexual individuals wanting to marry. But as we’ve seen in other states, it also affects young, impressionable students in our school system who are taught the homosexual world view.”

“It may also affect teachers and public employees who lose their jobs due to their religious beliefs if they are unwilling to teach the promotion of same-sex marriage,” he said.

Backers of the bill, including Raskin, the floor leader on behalf of the measure, disputed that assertion, saying the state education authority and local boards of education throughout the state decide the content of school curricula, with input from local communities.

Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard County), the only Republican supporting the bill in the Senate, said he struggled over the issue of same-sex marriage but came to realized that it is a matter of civil rights and equal justice for all Maryland residents.

“It is the right thing to do,” he said. “The time has come. Today is that time.”

The Senate voted on Wednesday 25-22 to give preliminary approval of the bill by passing a committee report recommending that the bill be enacted into law. Most observers of the legislature saw that vote as confirmation that senators would approve the bill in a final vote on Thursday or possibly early Friday.

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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.

A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.

The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals

Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

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Deacon Maccubbin attends the 2024 Capital Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.

The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Laverne Cox (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.

Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.

Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”

“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”

“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.

The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.

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PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride

Schuyler Bailar gives keynote address

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D.C. Trans Pride 2025 was held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on May 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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