Local
D.C. slaying of gay man is second in two weeks
On Jan. 10, police found 47-year-old Gordon Rivers along the 2600 block of Naylor Road, S.E., suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police said Rivers, a resident of Brandywine, Md., was pronounced dead a short time later after being taken to an area hospital.
One of Rivers’ friends circulated an e-mail Tuesday saying Rivers was a regular patron of the D.C. gay bar Bachelor’s Mill. A source familiar with the case said the police homicide squad earlier this week informed the department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit that Rivers was gay and invited the unit to assist in the investigation.
D.C. Police Capt. Edward Delgado, director of the department’s special liaison units, including the GLLU, circulated a police flyer with Rivers’ photo on Tuesday in an e-mail to local LGBT activists. He said detectives learned that Rivers was gay through their investigation of the case.
“There is no indication at this time that this homicide occurred as a result of a hate crime,” Delgado said.
Officer Helen Andrews, a police spokesperson, told DC Agenda on Wednesday that the homicide squad had no additional information on the case as of Wednesday, but police might release more details shortly.
Rivers’ murder came exactly two weeks after police found gay D.C. resident Anthony Perkins, 29, shot to death on Dec. 27 in his car near the intersection of Fourth and Oakwood streets, S.E. Police said they had yet to determine a motive and had no suspects in the Perkins case.
But homicide investigators said they were looking into a tip provided by Rev. Anthony Motley, a city minister and candidate for a seat on the D.C. City Council. Motley told DC Agenda that a mutual friend of his and Perkins informed him that Perkins may have been the target of an unidentified man believed to have committed a string of robberies in the neighborhood where Perkins was shot.
Perkins knew the robbery suspect and the suspect became “paranoid” that Perkins would report him to police, Motley recounted the mutual friend as saying.
Police said anyone with information about either of the two cases should call the police 24-hour hotline at 202-727-9099 or the homicide squad at 202-645-9600. The city offers a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals charged with a homicide.
The police flyer released in the Rivers case calls on members of the community to contact these homicide detectives with information on that case: Det. Jed Worrell, 202-645-9618 (desk), 202-486-1596 (cell); Det. George Singletary, 202-645-4376 (desk), 202-487-9488 (cell).
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
PHOTOS: WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert
Baltimore Trans Pride to take place Saturday
PHOTOS: WorldPride Parade
Judge temporarily blocks executive orders targeting LGBTQ, HIV groups
Pride and protests: a weekend full of division
PHOTOS: WorldPride Boat Parade
Activists rally for Andry Hernández Romero in front of Supreme Court
The best U.S. cities for LGBTQ homebuyers in 2025
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
