Local

Hundreds turn out for LGBT ‘Out & Ready for Hillary’ fundraiser

Actress Michelle Clunie, Prop 8 plaintiffs urge Clinton to enter 2016 race

Published

13 years ago

January 16, 2014

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Town Danceboutique, Out and Ready for Hillary, Hillary Clinton, gay news, Washington Blade

Hundreds turned out for a Ready for Hillary event at Town Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)

More than 300 people packed the D.C. gay nightclub Town Danceboutique Wednesday night for the first LGBT fundraiser and rally organized by Ready for Hillary, the independent committee formed last year to urge Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016.

Organizers said the large turnout was in keeping with the outpouring of support the Ready for Hillary organization is receiving from the LGBT community across the nation.

Guest speakers at the event included Michelle Clunie, actress and star of the television series “Queer as Folk,” and Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, the lesbian couple that became plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage.

“I really like Hillary,” Clunie told the Blade. “I met her. I trust her. I believe in her. She’s always the smartest person in the room. I think she’s over qualified for the job and I think she’ll make one of the best presidents ever.”

Clunie said she traveled to D.C. from her home in California to attend and speak at the event at the invitation of D.C. gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson, who, along with D.C. gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, served as coordinators of the rally in which attendees paid $20.16 to attend.

Lisa Changadveja, Ready for Hillary’s LGBT Americans Director, told the gathering that more than 1.5 million people across the nation have signed on as supporters of the political action committee, or PAC, which under federal campaign finance rules cannot have any interaction with Clinton.

Changadveja said more than 35,000 people have made contributions of $100 or less to the organization as part of its outreach to small donors and potential campaign volunteers if and when Clinton decides to enter the 2016 presidential race.

Perry and Stier, who are longtime partners, were married last year shortly after the Supreme Court ruling overturning Prop 8 cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California.

“I’ve met the Secretary a few times and I’ve been incredibly impressed by her commitment to children, families, LGBT people and equal rights in general,” Perry said of Clinton. “She was amazing as Secretary of State and her leadership at the United Nations and elsewhere. I think she’s done an awful lot to prove to the community that she’s a good candidate.”

Perry said she just moved to D.C. to take a job with a children’s advocacy organization called the First Five Years Fund. With their four sons “grown up” and either attending college or living on their own, she and Stier plan to divide their time between Washington and their home in Berkley, Perry said.

Although Clinton herself couldn’t attend the event under campaign finance rules, organizers arranged for a substitute that appeared to delight the crowd. A life-size cut-out photo of Hillary Clinton was propped up on a platform in front of a backdrop with the words “Ready for Hillary” written on it multiple times.

A photographer working with the Ready for Hillary group took dozens of pictures of people standing beside the Hillary cut-out photo.

“This is incredible,” said Earl Fowlkes, a D.C. gay activist who, among other things, serves as chair of the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Americans Caucus.

“I never expected to see this many people here to encourage Hillary to run,” he said. “And this goes to show you the kind of depth she has in the LGBT community for this many people to come out on a Wednesday night and basically give her the message that we want you to run. We’re ready for her.”

Added Fowlkes, “We had a black president and now we’re ready for a woman president. I’m ready.”

Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Anthony Lorenzo Green, who represents an ANC district in Ward 8, said he too believes Clinton is the best-qualified candidate to succeed Barack Obama as president.

“I prefer Democrats with a backbone,” Green said. “And she has continuously proved that she is not afraid to stand up to these Republicans and let them know that there are people in this country that we really need to look out for and she is the right person to do that.”

To see more photos from the event, click here.

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Baltimore

Popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s to temporarily close after owner’s death

Ron Singer passed away on July 7

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Leon’s Backroom Bar in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

By WESLEY CASE | Leon’s Backroom, Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, temporarily shut down after service on Wednesday night, according to a post on the business’s Instagram page.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after the death of the Mount Vernon bar’s owner, Ron Singer, who died at 66 on July 7.

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

Local

Comings & Goings

New garden center offers array of products in Rehoboth

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Peter Rosenstein

Bay Laurel Home & Garden is located just outside Rehoboth on Route 1.

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].

Congratulations to Stuart Ortel and Scott Marker, and Dave Lyons and Rick Hardy, on the recent opening of their garden center on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, in the former Farmer Girl site. It is called Bay Laurel Home and Garden and debuted earlier this year. The four owners are all well known to the denizens of Rehoboth Beach.

Stuart and Scott have been active members of the Rehoboth Beach community since 1999. Stuart is a landscape architect, and has established relationships with many local folks in the building and landscape industry. When this opportunity for Bay Laurel Home & Garden presented itself, and they had the perfect team of people in place, he and Scott were committed to making it a reality. So, when Scott and Stuart introduced this opportunity to create a new garden center to Dave and Rick, they embraced the chance to cultivate a business where beautiful plants, inspiring home and garden products, and outstanding customer service come together. Dave and Rick knew about owning a business in Rehoboth as they previously owned Coho’s Market, where they discovered firsthand the value of serving their community, and the rewards of running a locally owned business.

The garden center launched with a refreshed brand identity, updated merchandising, and expanded product lines, all designed to create an inspiring and welcoming environment for your home. Bay Laurel Home & Garden offers a beautifully appointed garden center and curated home and gift shop.

The new center features a full nursery with annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and seasonal selections; a garden center offering pottery, fountains, and garden ornamentation, and essential tools and garden supplies. It has a garden shop featuring unique indoor/outdoor furnishings and accessories, and a gift shop featuring botanical and coastal style items for home and entertaining.

Rehoboth Beach

Celebrate Pride in Rehoboth Beach this weekend

‘A vital space for community, healing, and connection’

Published

4 days ago

July 15, 2026

Thomas Weaverling

Rehoboth’s Pride festivities kick off Friday. (Washington Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Pride in Rehoboth Beach is kicking off this week on Friday, July 17, with events happening throughout the weekend.

“Rehoboth Beach Pride is more than a festival — it is a vital space for community, healing, and connection,” said David Mariner, director of Sussex Pride, which organizes many of the events.

The weekend will begin with the Grand Opening & Community Preview from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, July 17, celebrating the opening of Novus Medical Services and the new Sussex Pride Community Center.

This will be followed by an Interfaith Pride Service at 6 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church Rehoboth to gather for healing and the affirmation of queer spirituality with Rev. Carla Christopher, chair of Sussex Pride Faith.

Members of the community are then invited to head over to join the Rehoboth Beach Bears at the Pines to have dinner, mingle, and give back to local initiatives.

End the first night of Pride in Rehoboth at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub with music by DJ Joey P from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. inside the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. A full list of events is available at rehobothbeachpride.org.

Roxy Overbrooke will host on the main stage as live performances take place throughout the day, featuring music from DJ MK and Tribe 9 Entertainment.

The festival will include educational workshops, community meetups, and a raffle dedicated to raising funds for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth across Delaware.

Feature workshops include panels discussing topics such as unhoused LGBTQ+ youth in Delaware, the needs of trans and non-binary youth, as well as the increase in HIV and syphilis diagnoses amid federal budget cuts, in a panel moderated by Blade Editor Kevin Naff.

Saturday night will also feature an evening comedy and entertainment show at the Convention Center presented by the Gay Women of Rehoboth. Performers will include comedians Suzanne Westen h oefer and Karen Mills as well as musician Kristen Merlin. Tickets are available at gaywomenofrehoboth.org.

The Rehoboth Beach Pride Ride will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 19, hosted by the Dykes on Bikes Rehoboth Beach Women’s Motorcycle Club, starting at Lefty’s.

Goolee’s Drag Brunch will also take place on Sunday from 12-2 p.m at Goolee’s Grille. This is a family-friendly event hosted by Regina Cox and Ruby, featuring Aurora Sterling, Michelle Leigh Sterling, Scarlet St. Cartier, and Joanna Blue. Tickets can be purchased online.

Pride in Rehoboth will conclude at 2 p.m. with the official Rehoboth Beach Pride Closing Party at Aqua Bar & Grill, celebrating the venue’s landmark 20th anniversary with DJ Biff until 7 p.m.

Due to an influx of visitors for the summer season, those coming from out-of-town are encouraged to use the Park & Ride.