Local
D.C. co-op guilty of anti-gay discrimination
Commission says board twice refused to allow gay couple to buy apartment
In a little noticed action, the D.C. Commission on Human Rights ruled last April that the president and board of directors of a cooperative apartment building on Connecticut Avenue violated the cityās Human Rights Act by twice refusing to allow a gay couple to buy an apartment.
The case is unusual because the commissionās decision came more than 15 years after Thad S. Kemp and his then partner William L. Houston filed a discrimination complaint with the cityās Office of Human Rights against 2101 Connecticut Avenue Cooperative Apartments, Inc.
The complaint charged the upscale building, located across the street from the Chinese Embassy, with using a series of pretexts to deny the coupleās application to buy an apartment in the building on two separate occasions in 1997 because of their sexual orientation and their status as a mixed race couple. Kemp is white and Houston is black.
The building has appealed the commissionās decision before the D.C. Court of Appeals, arguing, among other things, that the commissionās recommended decision was made by an administrative law judge who did not preside over a three-day hearing in which key witnesses testified.
Attorney Stephen Horvath, who is representing 2101 Connecticut Avenue Co-op, notes in an appeal brief that the original chief hearing examiner who presided over the case, Cornelius Alexander, died in 2007 before reaching a decision. Horvath argues the administrative law judge for the commission who handed down the decision, Dianne Harris, wasnāt present at the hearing to see the witnesses testify and assess their credibility.
Harris states in her recommended decision that she carefully read the transcript of all testimony viewed and studied the exhibits and documents entered into evidence and obtained a full and impartial picture of the case. She disputes claims by Horvath that past court rulings require that a hearing examiner or judge be present during testimony by witnesses in order to issue a ruling on a civil case.
Harris noted that while she was not present during testimony in the 2003 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the co-op board and its president, John Rodler, were liable for the alleged discrimination, she did preside over a separate hearing to assess what the damages and penalty for the co-op should be.
The commissionās final decision and order, handed down on April 23, 2012, shows that then commissioners Christopher Dyer and Nkechi Jaifa voted to approve Harrisās recommended decision that the co-op and Rodler engaged in discrimination based on sexual orientation and racial discrimination against Kempt and Houston.
The third commissioner assigned to the case, gay attorney Michael Ward, dissented from the majority, saying he agreed with the co-opās attorney that Harris should not have ruled on the case without having personally attended the hearing in question.
āAlthough I believe that there is adequate testimony from which the commission might infer liability, I believe that those inferences require assessment of credibility and that respondents cannot therefore be held liable absent a de novo [new] hearing at which the administrative law judge can make credibility determinations and propose a decision to the commission that reflects those determinations,ā Ward wrote in his dissenting statement.
Dyer, the D.C. gay activist and former director of the Mayorās office of GLBT Affairs, and Jaifa did not submit a statement explaining why they voted to approve Harrisās proposed decision.
Richard Salzman, the attorney representing Kemp and Houston, called the commissionās decision āfair and measured,ā noting that it did not agree to all of the Kemp and Houstonās specific requests for damages. He noted that the commission denied Kempās request that the co-op pay him the amount of equity he would have accrued as the value of the two apartments he attempted to buy rose significantly in the 15 years since the co-op denied his application to buy the apartments.
āThe evidence was overwhelming that the discrimination took place,ā Salzman said. āIt is clear to anyone who looks at the evidence presented.ā
Under D.C. law, the D.C. Solicitor General, who is part of the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, is responsible for defending the Commission on Human Rights decision in the appeals court phase of the case.
A spokesperson for the Solicitor General said the office is scheduled to file its response to 2101 Connecticut Ave. Co-opās appeal brief on Feb. 11.
In its April 23 decision, the D.C. Commission on Human Rights ordered the co-op to ācease and desistā from engaging in further discrimination against people who apply to buy an apartment in the building and who are covered under the D.C. Human Rights Act.
The decision also calls on the co-op building to pay Kemp $90,000 for the amount he paid ($515,000) for an apartment he bought in another building in excess of what he would have paid ($415,000) for one of the apartments he was prevented from buying in the co-op building.
In addition, the decision orders the co-op to pay Kemp $35,000 for āhumiliation, embarrassment and indignityā he suffered due to the co-opās discriminatory action against him. It calls for the co-op to award Houston $17,500 in damages for also suffering āhumiliation, embarrassment and indignity.ā
The co-op is also required to pay for Kemp and Houstonās attorneyās fees and to reimburse the city $6,458 in court reporting and transcription costs related to the case.
Why did this case take so long to go from the complaint to a decision by the commission?
David Simmons, chief administrative law judge for the Commission on Human Rights, told the Blade on Wednesday that one of the reasons Kemp and Houston’s discrimination case took 15 years to advance from the complaint to the commission’s decision last April was a lack of a sufficient number of hearing examiners and support staff for the commission.
He said more hearing examiners and support staff have been hired in recent years, but during the years that Alexander served as chief administrative law judge, the staffing was a “travesty,” he said. According to Simmons, at the time Alexander presided over the Kemp-Houston case, he was the only hearing examiner the commission had, forcing him to preside over all of the cases.
“I knew Cornelius Alexander, and he was hard-working and an excellent attorney,” he said. “In my view, the city killed him. They worked him to death.”
District of Columbia
Catching up with the asexuals and aromantics of D.C.
Exploring identity and finding community
There was enough commotion in the sky at the Blossom Kite Festival that bees might have been pollinating the Washington Monument. I despaired of quickly finding the Asexuals and Aromantics of the Mid-AtlanticāI couldnāt make out a single asexual flag among the kites up above. I thought to myself that if it had been the Homosexuals of the Mid-Atlantic I wouldāve had my gaydar to rely on. Was there even such a thing as ace-dar?
As it turned out, the asexual kite the group had meant to fly was a little too pesky to pilot. āHave you ever used a stunt kite?ā Bonnie, the event organizer asked me. āI bought one. It looked really cool. But I canāt make it work.ā She sighed. āI canāt get the thing six feet off the ground.ā The group hardly seemed to care. There was caramel popcorn and cookies, board games and head massages, a game of charades with more than its fair share of PokĆ©mon. The kites up above might as well have been a coincidental sideshow. Nearly two dozen folks filtered in and out of the picnic throughout the course of the day.
But I counted myself lucky that Bonnie picked me out of the crowd. If thereās such a thing as ace-dar, it eludes asexuals too. The online forum for all matters asexual, AVEN, or the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, is filled with laments: āI donāt think itās possible.ā āDude, I wish I had an ace-dar.ā āIf it exists, I donāt have it.ā āI think this is just like a broken clock is right twice a day type thing.ā What seems to be a more common experience is meeting someone you just click withāonly to find out later that theyāre asexual. A few of the folks I met described how close childhood friends of theirs likewise came out in adulthood, a phenomenon that will be familiar to many queer people. But it is all the more astounding for asexuals to find each other this way, given that asexual people constitute 1.7% of sexual minorities in America, and so merely .1% of the population at large.
To help other asexuals identify you out in the world, some folks wear a black ring on their middle finger, much as an earring on the right ear used to signify homosexuality in a less welcoming era. The only problem? The swinger communityāwith its definite non-asexualityāhas also adopted the signal. āItās still a thing,ā said Emily Karp. āSo some people wear their ace rings just to the ace meet-ups.ā Karp has been the primary coordinator for the Asexuals and Aromantics of the Mid-Atlantic (AAMA) since 2021, and a member of the meet-up for a decade. She clicked with the group immediately. After showing up for a Fourth of July potluck in the mid-afternoon, she ended up staying past midnight. āWe played Cards against Humanity, which was a very, very fun thing to do. It’s funny in a way thatās different than if we were playing with people that weren’t ace. Some of the cards are implying, like, the person would be motivated by sex in a way that’s absurd, because we know they aren’t.ā
Where so many social organizations withered during the pandemic, the AAMA flourished. Today, it boasts almost 2,000 members on meetup.com. Karp hypothesized that all the social isolation gave people copious time to reflect on themselves, and that the ease of meeting up online made it convenient as a way for people to explore their sexual identity and find community. Online events continue to make up about a third of the groupās meet-ups. The format allows people to participate who live farther out from D.C. And it allows people to participate at their preferred level of comfort: while many people participate much as they would at an in-person event, some prefer to watch anonymously, video feed off. Others prefer to participate in the chat box, though not in spoken conversation.
A recent online event was organized for a discussion of Rhaina Cohenās book, āThe Other Significant Others,ā published in February. Cohenās book discusses friendship as an alternative model for āsignificant others,ā apart from the romantic model that is presupposed to be both the center and goal of peopleās lives. The AAMA group received the book with enthusiasm. āIt literally re-wired my brain,ā as one person put it. People discussed the importance of friendship to their lives, and their difficulties in a world that de-prioritized friendship. āI can break up with a friend over text, and we donāt owe each other a conversation,ā one said. But there was some disagreement when it came to the bookās discussion of romantic relationships. āIt relegates ace relationships to the āfriendā or āplatonicā category, to the normie-reader,ā one person wrote in the chat. āOur whole ace point is that we can have equivalent life relationships to allo people, simply without sex.ā (āAlloā is shorthand for allosexual or alloromantic, people who do experience sexual or romantic attraction.)
The folks of the AAMA do not share a consensus on the importance of romantic relationships to their lives. Some asexuals identify as aromantic, some donāt. And some aromantics donāt identify as asexual, either. The āAromanticā in the title of the group is a relatively recent addition. In 2017, the group underwent a number of big changes. The group was marching for the first time in D.C. Pride, participating in the LGBTQ Creating Change conference, and developing a separate advocacy and activism arm. Moreover, the group had become large enough that discussions were opened up into forming separate chapters for D.C., Central Virginia, and Baltimore. During those discussions, the group leadership realized that aromantic people who also identified as allosexual didnāt really have a space to call their own. āWe were thinking it would be good to probably change the name of the Meetup group,ā Emily said. āBut we were not 100% sure. Because [there were] like 1,000 people in the group, and theyāre all aces, and itās like, āDo you really want to add a non-ace person?āā The group leadership decided to err on the side of inclusion. āYou know, being less gatekeep-y was better. It gave them a place to go ā because there was nowhere else to go.ā
The DC LGBT Center now sponsors a support group for both asexuals and aromantics, but it was formed just a short while ago, in 2022. The founder of the group originally sought out the centerās bisexual support group, since they didnāt have any resources for ace folks. āThe organizer said, you know what, why donāt we just start an ace/aro group? Like, why donāt we just do it?ā He laughed. āI was impressed with the turnout, the first call. Itās almost like we tapped into, like, a dam. You poke a hole in the dam, and the water just rushes out.ā The group has a great deal of overlap with the AAMA, but it is often a personās first point of contact with the asexual and aromantic community in D.C., especially since the group focuses on exploring what it means to be asexual. Someone new shows up at almost every meeting. āAnd Iām so grateful that I did,ā one member said. āI kind of showed up and just trauma dumped, and everyone was really supportive.ā
Since the ace and aro community is so small, even within the broader queer community, ace and aro folks often go unrecognized. To the chagrin of many, the White House will write up fact sheets about the LGBTQI+ community, which is odd, given that when the āIā is added to the acronym, the āAā is usually added too. OKCupid has 22 genders and 12 orientations on its dating website, but āaromanticā is not one of them ā presumably because aromantic people donāt want anything out of dating. And since asexuality and aromanticism are defined by the absence of things, it can seem to others like ace and aro people are āmissing something.ā One member of the LGBT center support group had an interesting response. āThe space is filled byā¦ whatever else!ā they said. āWeāre not doing a relationship āwithout that thing.ā Weāre doing a full scale relationship ā as it makes sense to us.ā
CJ Higgins is a postdoctoral fellow with the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
District of Columbia
Bowser budget proposal calls for $5.25 million for 2025 World Pride
AIDS office among agencies facing cuts due to revenue shortfall
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowserās proposed fiscal year 2025 budget includes a request for $5.25 million in funding to support the June 2025 World Pride celebration, which D.C. will host, and which is expected to bring three million or more visitors to the city.
The mayorās proposed budget, which she presented to the D.C. Council for approval earlier this month, also calls for a 7.6 percent increase in funding for the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which amounts to an increase of $132,000 and would bring the officeās total funding to $1.7 million. The office, among other things, provides grants to local organizations that provide services to the LGBTQ community.
Among the other LGBTQ-related funding requests in the mayorās proposed budget is a call to continue the annual funding of $600,000 to provide workforce development services for transgender and gender non-conforming city residents āexperiencing homelessness and housing instability.ā The budget proposal also calls for a separate allocation of $600,000 in new funding to support a new Advanced Technical Center at the Whitman-Walker Healthās Max Robinson Center in Ward 8.
Among the city agencies facing funding cuts under the mayorās proposed budget is the HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Tuberculosis Administration, known as HAHSTA, which is an arm of the D.C. Department of Health. LGBTQ and AIDS activists have said HAHSTA plays an important role in the cityās HIV prevention and support services. Observers familiar with the agency have said it recently lost federal funding, which the city would have to decide whether to replace.
āWe werenāt able to cover the loss of federal funds for HAHSTA with local funds,ā Japer Bowles, director of the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, told the Washington Blade. āBut we are working with partners to identify resources to fill those funding gaps,ā Bowles said.
The total proposed budget of $21 billion that Bowser submitted to the D.C. Council includes about $500 million in proposed cuts in various city programs that the mayor said was needed to offset a projected $700 million loss in revenue due, among other things, to an end in pandemic era federal funding and commercial office vacancies also brought about by the post pandemic commercial property and office changes.
Bowserās budget proposal also includes some tax increases limited to sales and business-related taxes, including an additional fee on hotel bookings to offset the expected revenue losses. The mayor said she chose not to propose an increase in income tax or property taxes.
Earlier this year, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, which consists of several local LGBTQ advocacy organizations, submitted its own fiscal year 2025 budget proposal to both Bowser and the D.C. Council. In a 14-page letter the coalition outlined in detail a wide range of funding proposals, including housing support for LGBTQ youth and LGBTQ seniors; support for LGBTQ youth homeless services; workforce and employment services for transgender and gender non-conforming residents; and harm reduction centers to address the rise in drug overdose deaths.
Another one of the coalitionās proposals is $1.5 million in city funding for the completion of the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Communityās new building, a former warehouse building in the cityās Shaw neighborhood that is undergoing a build out and renovation to accommodate the LGBTQ Centerās plans to move in later this year. The coalitionās budget proposal also calls for an additional $300,000 in ārecurringā city funding for the LGBTQ Center in subsequent years āto support ongoing operational costs and programmatic initiatives.ā
Bowles noted that Bowser authorized and approved a $1 million grant for the LGBTQ Centerās new building last year but was unable to provide additional funding requested by the budget coalition for the LGBTQ Center for fiscal year 2025.
āWeāre still in this with them,ā Bowles said. āWeāre still looking and working with them to identify funding.ā
The total amount of funding that the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition listed in its letter to the mayor and Council associated with its requests for specific LGBTQ programs comes to $43.1 million.
Heidi Ellis, who serves as coordinator of the coalition, said the coalition succeeded in getting some of its proposals included in the mayorās budget but couldnāt immediately provide specific amounts.
āThere are a couple of areas I would argue we had wins,ā Ellis told the Blade. āWe were able to maintain funding across different housing services, specifically around youth services that affect folks like SMYAL and Wanda Alston.ā She was referring to the LGBTQ youth services group SMYAL and the LGBTQ organization Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing for homeless LGBTQ youth.
āWe were also able to secure funding for the transgender, gender non-conforming workforce program,ā she said. āWe also had funding for migrant services that weāve been advocating for and some wins on language access,ā said Ellis, referring to programs assisting LGBTQ people and others who are immigrants and arenāt fluent in speaking English.
Ellis said that although the coalitionās letter sent to the mayor and Council had funding proposals that totaled $43.1 million, she said the coalition used those numbers as examples for programs and policies that it believes would be highly beneficial to those in the LGBTQ community in need.
āI would say to distill it down to just we ask for $43 million or whatever, thatās not an accurate picture of what weāre asking for,ā she said. āWeāre asking for major investments around a few areas ā housing, healthcare, language access. And for capital investments to make sure the D.C. Center can open,ā she said. āItās not like a narrative about the dollar amounts. Itās more like where weāre trying to go.ā
The Blade couldnātā immediately determine how much of the coalitionās funding proposals are included in the Bowser budget. The mayorās press secretary, Daniel Gleick, told the Blade in an email that those funding levels may not have been determined by city agencies.
āAs for specific funding levels for programs that may impact the LGBTQ community, such as individual health programs through the Department of Health, it is too soon in the budget process to determine potential adjustments on individual programs run though city agencies,ā Gleick said.
But Bowles said several of the programs funded in the mayorās budget proposal that are not LGBTQ specific will be supportive of LGBTQ programs. Among them, he said, is the budgetās proposal for an increase of $350,000 in funding for senior villages operated by local nonprofit organizations that help support seniors. Asked if that type of program could help LGBTQ seniors, Bowles said, āAbsolutely ā thatās definitely a vehicle for LGBTQ senior services.ā
He said among the programs the increased funding for the mayorās LGBTQ Affairs office will support is its ongoing cultural competency training for D.C. government employees. He said he and other office staff members conduct the trainings about LGBTQ-related issues at city departments and agencies.
Bowser herself suggested during an April 19 press conference that local businesses, including LGBTQ businesses and organizations, could benefit from a newly launched city āPop-Up Permit Programā that greatly shortens the time it takes to open a business in vacant storefront buildings in the downtown area.
Bowser and Nina Albert, D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, suggested the new expedited city program for approving permits to open shops and small businesses in vacant storefront spaces could come into play next year when D.C. hosts World Pride, one of the wordās largest LGBTQ events.
āWhile we know that all special events are important, there is an especially big one coming to Washington, D.C. next year,ā Bowser said at the press conference. āAnd to that point, we proposed a $5.25 million investment to support World Pride 2025,ā she said, adding, āItās going to be pretty great. And so, weāre already thinking about how we can include D.C. entrepreneurs, how weāre going to include artists, how weāre going to celebrate across all eight wards of our city as well,ā she said.
Among those attending the press conference were officials of D.C.ās Capital Pride Alliance, which will play a lead role in organizing World Pride 2025 events.
Maryland
Health care for Marylanders with HIV is facing huge cuts this summer
Providers poised to lose three-quarters of funding
BY MEREDITH COHN | By the end of June, health care providers in Maryland will lose nearly three-quarters of the funding they use to find and treat thousands of people with HIV.
Advocates and providers say they had been warned there would be less money by the Maryland Department of Health, but were stunned at the size of the drop ā from about $17.9 million this fiscal year to $5.3 million the next. The deep cuts are less than three months away.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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