Local
Gray enjoys LGBT support amid controversy
Mayor Vincent Gray delivering a proclamation at the D.C. Black Pride opening reception (Washington Blade photo by Blake Bergen)
Mayor Vincent Gray continues to enjoy LGBT support amid the ongoing federal investigation into his 2010 mayoral campaign that threatens to overshadow his administration.
“He has proven with actions that our issues are a priority under his administration,” said transgender activist Ruby Corado.
She spoke with the Blade a week after former Gray aides Howard Brooks and Thomas Gore pleaded guilty to federal charges that stem from allegations over the use of campaign funds to pay Sulaimon Brown to verbally attack then-Mayor Adrian Fenty ahead of the 2010 Democratic primary. Gray has not publicly commented on the guilty pleas or the ongoing investigation, but he received a warm reception at D.C. Black Pride’s opening reception on Friday night.
Jeffrey Richardson, director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, declined to specifically comment to the Blade on the allegations. He stressed the response to concerns over public safety, the development of employment initiatives for transgender Washingtonians and the implementation of diversity trainings in District government are proof of what he described as the administration’s continued commitment to the city’s LGBT residents.
“I hope the community remains aware of so much of the work that has happened over the last year from the mayor’s office,” said Richardson. “Our focus has not shifted in any way, shape or form.”
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club endorsed Gray in the 2010 Democratic primary, while the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance gave the former D.C. Council chair an 8.5 out of 10 rating.
“We worked really hard to promote his campaign,” said Corado. “He was good on his word. When Fenty was in office, we did the same thing. And when he went into office it was hard to talk to him.”
Gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson, who backed Fenty in 2006, helped Gray raise money from LGBT donors. He further applauded the mayor for nominating transgender activists Earline Budd and Alexandra Beninda to the D.C. Commission on Human Rights in April.
“He has a lifelong commitment on LGBT equality, going back at least to trailblazing the fair treatment of transgender youth when he was executive director of Covenant House,” said Hudson. “There is no danger of his legacy on LGBT issues.”
While Gray supporters are quick to point out that they feel he is the most LGBT-friendly mayor in the city’s history, they continue to await the outcome of the investigation.
“The mayor is doing a great job running the District,” said gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, who endorsed Gray in 2010. “I am amazed at the stupidity of what was done in the campaign, but am waiting for the U.S. Attorney to finish his investigation before I am willing to think that the mayor himself was involved. Anyone proven to be guilty, and that would include the mayor if he is, should be punished.”
Corado added she remains worried about whether Gray’s successor would respond as well to LGBT Washingtonians’ concerns if he were to leave office.
“As members of the LGBT community, I hope that we continue to support the mayor,” she said.
Baltimore
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death
By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.
In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.
But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Protest Pizza owners say community has expressed support
Gay activist Randy Downs said he and his business and life partner Ricky Bennett are grateful for the support they have received from the Dupont Circle community after they released a video showing a suspect breaking into their recently opened pizza shop and taking money from a cash register shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing black clothing with his face covered, smashing the glass front door of Protest Pizza, located at 1633 ½ P St., N.W. The video, which Downs and Bennett provided to D.C. police, also shows the suspect climbing over the bar to get to a cash register, which he opened to take out cash.
A D.C. police report obtained by the Washington Blade lists the incident as a Burglary in the Second Degree and says the owners reported “approximately $78 in cash” was taken from the cash register. The report says the incident is not listed as a suspected hate crime.
Downs told the Washington Blade that after he and Bennett reported the break-in and theft on social media, they received an overwhelming showing of support from neighbors and others, including business owners, from across the nation.
“The break-in was upsetting, but it is not what will define Protest Pizza,” Downs said. “What defines us is how quickly people showed up,” he told the Blade. “One person came looking for a cash register; our community saw a gathering place worth protecting. The response reminded us that Protest’s real value was never in the register.”
Downs said he and Bennett, who live around the corner on the section of 17th Street, N.W., near several other bars and restaurants, including the gay bar JRs are located, opened Protest Pizza in November 2025.
“Ricky and I built Protest Pizza as a positive, welcoming, queer owned neighborhood restaurant and bar — a space for protest and joy,” he said.
A D.C. police spokesperson said police offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the type of burglary and theft that occurred at Protest Pizza. Police say anyone with information to help solve this type of crime should call the police tipline at 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Advocates honored at Engendered Spirit Awards
Annual ceremony held at conclusion of Trans Pride DC
The 2026 SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the conclusion of the day-long Trans Pride DC: Encore.
Honorees included D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs Deputy Director Vida Rangel; the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc.; and Connor Keuntje, CLP, CLPC.
Trans Pride DC: Encore was held throughout Saturday with several workshop sessions and a virtual conversation with actress and advocate Dominique Jackson.
The annual Engendered Spirit Awards were renamed the “SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards” in honor of SaVanna Wanzer, founder of D.C. Trans Pride. Wanzer died on April 24 of this year.
Speakers at the ceremony included Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Bianca Sprague, executive director of D.C. Trans Pride.
“The intent behind this award and honoring members of our communities, organizations, and allies, is to really elevate all of the work that they’re doing to provide resources, tools, learning opportunities and connections: centering trans folks, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals,” Sprague said.
Dolly Parton dies at 80
Monument to LGBTQ Canadians officially unveiled
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
When home becomes a journey: migration, memory, and the African diaspora
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Trump-Vance administration’s LGBTQ brain drain: what you need to know
UPDATE: Impulse Group’s ‘PrEP Pool Party’ cancelled
Not all trans people are the same
Calendar: August 21-27
