Local
Delaware lawmaker to introduce marriage bill
Rep. Smith sponsored state’s civil unions law
A Delaware lawmaker who sponsored the stateās civil unions bill told the Washington Blade on Wednesday she will introduce a measure that would extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples in the First State.
āItās going to be my honor and privilege to be able to sponsor the bill in the House of Representatives,ā said state Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear).
Smith did not provide a specific timeline as to when she would formally introduce the same-sex marriage bill.
The legislative session ends on June 30, but Attorney General Beau Biden told the Blade on March 16 he is āanxious to make sure that something is put in the General Assembly sooner than later so we donāt run up against the clock.ā He is among the 14 state attorneys general who filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that argues both the Defense of Marriage Act and Californiaās Proposition 8 are unconstitutional.
āWe want to make sure that everything is lined up that weāve got a bill thatās legally and technically perfect that way there can be no question,ā Smith said. āItās such a controversial issue from some peopleās perspective that we donāt want folks picking apart the bill on technical matters or anything along those lines.ā
āIf weāre going to do this weāre going to do it perfectly,ā she added. āWeāre just working to get it done perfectly. As soon as weāre confident that the bill has no legal or technical flaws and that everything looks good thatās when weāll be going ahead and introducing it.ā
Smith spoke with the Blade less than a week after gay Delaware Republican Party Executive Director John Fluharty publicly spoke in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples during an interview at an Equality Delaware fundraiser in Wilmington.
āWeāre all individual people and we as individuals care about equality, we care about fairness and we care about people and their fairness,ā she said, adding she feels nuptials for gays and lesbians is a non-partisan issue. āWe have a very courageous and strong individual who is willing to say I support fairness; I support equality.ā
Smith remains optimistic the same-sex marriage bill will gain Republican support in the state legislature once she introduces it. She said the success of the stateās civil unions law that took effect in 2012 has helped lay the foundation upon which advocates can gain further support for nuptials for gays and lesbians in Delaware.
āYouāve really got a platform in Delaware where folks want to see fairness and they want to see Delawareans who are in love have the same opportunity to receive the same federal benefits as other people do,ā she said. āWhen you talk with folks about that, I think it really helps shape the nature of the debate and people understand whatās going on.ā
Smith also applauded Vice President Biden, President Obama and others who have spoken publicly in support of the issue.
āWhen we have national leaders who are willing to support equality for everybody it kind of sends the message from the top down itās a value that we in America hold dearly,ā she said. āWe were founded on a nation of equal rights and that weāve spent the last couple of hundred years trying to correct injustices where things arenāt equal.ā
A Global Strategy Group survey that Equality Delaware commissioned last month found 54 percent of Delaware voters support marriage rights for same-sex couples. Three-quarters of respondents said nuptials for gays and lesbians in the state would not negatively impact their lives.
Smith said she remains optimistic the same-sex marriage bill will pass.
āIt is really truly about recognizing the value that we in Delaware place on individual equality and Delawareans should be able to have the same rights as everybody,ā she said.
District of Columbia
D.C. mayorĀ honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions
LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for āvital workā
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.
āWhereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,ā the proclamation states.
The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for āBlack LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.ā
It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce āexciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.ā
āWhereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,ā the proclamation continues.
āNow, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,ā it concludes.
āWe thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,ā Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. āStarting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nationās Capital,ā the statement says.
“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade ā as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,ā says the statement.
Local
D.C. jury finds AARP Services illegally fired gay man
Former employee awarded $2.1 million in damages
A D.C. Superior Court jury on March 15 handed down a verdict finding that the D.C.-based AARP Services, Inc., an arm of the AARP that interacts with businesses supportive of the nationās seniors, illegally fired a gay manager because of his sexual orientation.
The juryās verdict, which it said was based on a āpreponderance of evidence,ā came six years after Richard A. āRickā Deus Jr., who worked for AARP and AARP Services for 11 years, filed a lawsuit against his former employer in May 2018. The lawsuit charges that AARP Services violated the D.C. Human Rights Act by firing him after falsely accusing him of accepting gifts for travel from businesses affiliated with AARP that violated AARP employee ethics policies.
His lawsuit says he was fired in February 2018. At that time, he held the title of director of program management at AARP Services.
The lawsuit says AARP Services cited the alleged travel violations as the reason for its decision to fire him. The lawsuit named AARP Services and its then chief executive officer, Lawrence Flanagan, as the two defendants responsible for Deusās firing.
But the juryās verdict only named AARP Services as being at fault in the firing. It did not find Flanagan at fault and did not hold him responsible for damages, even though Flanagan testified at the trial that he made the final decision to terminate Deus on grounds that Deus violated the travel policy.
The jury also chose not to hold AARP Services responsible for paying punitive damages to Deus, whose lawsuit called for $5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $5 million in punitive damages.
In its verdict, according to online court records, the jury awarded Deus $1,612,916.18 in compensatory damages and $578,351 in damages for emotional distress that AARP Services is required to pay Deus. The court records show the jury awarded Deus another $1,118.89 to be paid by AARP Services for its alleged breach of contract with him in its decision to fire him.
An attorney representing AARP Services immediately following the verdict filed a motion requesting that Superior Court Judge Shana Frost Matini, who presided over the trial, issue a ādirected verdictā overturning the juryās verdict.
Such a motion is often filed by individuals or organizations on the losing side of a lawsuit, but such requests are rarely approved. Matini said she would schedule a hearing to consider the motion in May.
āIām thrilled that the jury found that I was treated differently from my co-workers and discriminatorily fired,ā Deus told the Washington Blade after the jury handed down its verdict. āThatās clearly what they found, and they awarded emotional pain and suffering,ā he said. āBut overall, Iām elated. Itās been six years of my life that Iāve been fighting and telling people that I was treated differently than anybody else and today I got my vindication.ā
Laura Segal, AARPās Senior Vice President for External Affairs, told the Blade in a statement, āAARP is pleased with the juryās verdict that Lawrence Flanagan lawfully terminated Richard Deusās employment.ā She added, āAARP Services, Inc. (ASI) disagrees with the remainder of the verdict and is exploring all options for further legal review. We remain committed to an inclusive culture and warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.ā
Attorneys representing AARP Services argued at the trial and presented witnesses denying Dues was fired because of his sexual orientation. They asserted that AARP Services had and still has gay and lesbian employees and managers and that the company has a longstanding policy of prohibiting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or marital status.
Deusās lawsuit accused AARP Services of targeting Deus for discrimination based on his marriage to another man as well as for his sexual orientation. The jury did not find that AARP Services engaged in discrimination against Deus based on his marital status.
Flanagan was among the lead defense witnesses who testified at the nine-day-long trial. He testified that he has worked for many years with gay colleagues, has a gay relative who he admires, and would never have allowed his staff to engage in discrimination while he served as AARP Services CEO.
He noted in his testimony that his decision to fire Deus was based, in part, on the recommendation of AARP Servicesā human resources or personnel director, Michael Loizzi, who is an openly gay man. Loizzi, who also testified at the trial, said that as a gay man he would never have called for Deus or anyone else to be fired because of their sexual orientation. He stated in his testimony that he recommended to Flanagan that Deus be fired because Deus violated AARP Services travel policy and lied to his supervisor about the details of the travel to get his supervisorās approval under false pretenses.
Deus, during his own testimony, strongly disputed claims that he obtained permission for his travel by providing false information to his supervisor. His lawsuit states that both his supervisor and AARP Servicesā legal counsel cleared him for the two trips that he has been accused of taking in violation of policy.
His lawsuit identifies heterosexual AARP and AARP Services employees who have taken business trips like the two taken by Deus that allegedly violated travel policy who were not fired or disciplined. A few faced disciplinary actions but were allowed to retain their jobs, the lawsuit says.
āThis case is about the unequal treatment of a gay man when juxtaposed to the treatment of our heterosexual comparators,ā Darrell Chambers, Deusās lead attorney, told the Washington Blade after the verdict. āThis is not a case about an organization or a group of people who hate gay people and decided that they were going to fire this man because they hate him,ā Chambers said.
āInstead, itās a case where the punishment that they consistently applied to gay employees, re Mr. Deus and Mr. Sanders, was harsher, far harsher than the punishment they applied to heterosexual employees who committed the same or similar acts.ā
Chambers was referring to former AARP Services employee Jack Sanders, who is gay and who testified on video played at the trial that he was summarily fired on grounds that he allegedly sent pornographic photos or video images to another AARP Services employee, who complained about receiving the pornographic images.
Sanders has said the pornographic images in question were sent to the employee by his ex-boyfriend who wanted to portray Sanders in a negative light. Through telephone and wire transmission records Sanders was able to show that the images in question were sent from a device in Washington, D.C. at a time that Sanders was in Chicago, proving that Sanders could not have been the person who sent the images.
Deusās attorneys brought out at the trial that AARP Services failed to give Sanders a chance to defend himself, prompting him to file his own lawsuit against AARP Services for which a settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement have not been publicly disclosed. But Deusās attorneys cited Sandersās case as yet another example of how AARP Services has treated gay employees differently from heterosexual employees.
AARP Services attorney Alison Davis argued during the trial that discrimination based on Deusās sexual orientation had nothing at all to do with the decision to fire him. Davis told the jury that the two trips that Deus took that led to his firing, one to New York City and the other to New Orleans to attend the Sugar Bowl football game, were financed in part by companies that do business with AARP in violation of AARP and AARP Services policies for travel. Among other things, she said the Sugar Bowl is considered a championship game that has a value higher than smaller gifts that AARP employees are allowed to accept.
Deus testified that his reason for accepting an invitation to the Sugar Bowl game was to spend time with the new account director at the Allstate insurance company, which paid for the Sugar Bowl game ticket. āIn 2019, we were going to be negotiating a new contract with Allstate and we wanted to establish a good relationship with her before the contract negotiations began,ā he told the Blade. āThatās how you do business.ā
Deus said he was referring to Allstateās business relationship with AARP Services, which he said, similar to its interaction with other businesses, helps AARP provide support and services to the nationās senior citizens.
In her cross examination of Deus on the witness stand, Davis also raised AARP Servicesā claim in contesting the lawsuit that the emotional distress and depression that Deus says he suffered because of his firing could have been caused by issues unrelated to the firing. Davis asked Deus if his emotional distress was caused by stress that Deus has said he experienced years earlier when he came out as gay to his parents, who are ordained ministers, and in his interaction with his sister, who had been diagnosed as being bipolar.
Deus said that while his coming out to his conservative parents nearly 30 years ago and his sisterās mental health issues were a concern years earlier, he and his parents had long since reconciled over his sexual orientation and his sisterās mental health issues played no role whatsoever in the emotional distress he experienced after being fired by AARP Services.
In her cross examination of Deus on the witness stand, Davis also asked him if his decision to be interviewed by the Washington Blade last year for a Blade story about his lawsuit could have contributed to the difficulty, he said he encountered in finding employment after he was fired by AARP Services. Deus, who testified that he was hired by at least one other company that later laid him off, said he did not believe a Blade story about his lawsuit would have an adverse impact on him.
Baltimore
Power Plant Live! opens Club 4, its first LGBTQ bar
Ryan Butler, known by his drag persona Brooklyn Heights, helped launch venue
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | Ryan Butler wanted a place where all members of the LGBTQ community could enjoy drag, drinks and fellowship in a safe space. He found it by the Inner Harbor.
Butler jumped at the opportunity to help open Club 4, the first LGBTQ-themed bar to occupy the popular Power Plant Live! venue.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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