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Couple walks out during anti-gay sermon

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Jon Mack and Michael Garrett (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

Jon Mack and his partner, Michael Garrett, said their one-year tenure as members of Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church in Northeast D.C. came to an abrupt end last week.

The two gay men said they were startled and deeply hurt when Bishop Alfred Owens, the church pastor, appeared to be sending them and other same-sex couples a blunt message Jan. 3.

ā€œSex is only pleasing to God in the marriage bed, and the marriage bed is a man and ā€¦ a woman!ā€ Owens shouted from the pulpit, with hundreds in the church pews shouting their approval, according to accounts by Mack and Garrett.

Owensā€™ remarks are also captured on a recording of his sermon made available last week on the churchā€™s web site.

ā€œIf marriage wasnā€™t between a man and a woman, you wouldnā€™t be here because two men doing it donā€™t produce no kids,ā€ Owens said. ā€œAnd two women doing it donā€™t produce no kids! Itā€™s all about family,ā€ he said as members of the congregation continued to clap and cheer.

ā€œDuring this homophobic rant, me and my partner got up and walked out,ā€ said Mack, 28.

Mack and Garrett, 32, contacted DC Agenda about their decision to walk out on Owensā€™ sermon and are believed to be the first gays to publicly disclose their departure from a church that activists say has a large number of closeted gay members, mostly black.

ā€œWhat hurt me more than what he said is how the congregation yelled and agreed with him,ā€ Mack said. ā€œIt showed me that people that donā€™t even know me hate me just because of my sexuality.ā€

Mack and Garrett said they were aware of reports that Owens had previously made anti-gay remarks during his sermons at Greater Mount Calvary, which boasts a membership of more than 6,000 people. But the two noted they were attracted to the churchā€™s charismatic, highly animated services, which include performances by several different choirs.

Owens previously drew media attention in 2006 when, in one of his recorded sermons on the Sunday before Easter, he referred to gays as faggots.

ā€œIt takes a real man to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior,ā€ he said in the 2006 sermon. ā€œIā€™m not talking about no faggot or no sissy. ā€¦ Let the real men come down here and take a bow ā€” all the real men. Iā€™m talking about straight men. ā€¦ Praise God that youā€™re straight.ā€

His references to gays in the sermon prompted LGBT activists to ask then D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to expel Owens from a mayoral task force on faith. In response, Owens issued an apology, which prompted Williams to announce he would retain the minister on the faith task force.

Garrett said his initial reaction upon hearing Owensā€™ hostile references to gays in the Jan. 3 sermon was to blame himself for continuing to attend Greater Mount Calvary services, despite the reports from friends and acquaintances that Owens is hostile to gays.

ā€œSince going there for the past year, I never heard anything out of the way like that,ā€ Garrett said. ā€œSo a lot of it was inspirational up until that point. And it kind of took me aback. ā€¦ And then due to the fact that Jon and I are together and weā€™re going to see about getting married in D.C., it really was like, ā€˜Why am I supporting this person? How come I couldnā€™t see this beforehand?ā€™ā€

Mack and Garrett, who live in Bowie, Md., said they now plan to worship at Covenant Baptist Church in Southeast D.C, which bills itself as an LGBT-affirming congregation. The churchā€™s husband and wife co-pastors, Dennis and Christine Wiley, served as leaders of a coalition of clergy in support of same-sex marriage in D.C.

The two men said theyā€™re hopeful that other gays will leave Greater Mount Calvary and other churches whose pastors and congregations are hostile toward or unwelcoming of LGBT members.

ā€œI was depressed and actually thought about suicide,ā€ Mack said. ā€œI kept thinking, ā€˜Whatā€™s the point of going on if God hates me and Iā€™m going to hell anyway?ā€™ and ā€˜Why does God hate me?ā€™

ā€œMy hope is if this is put in the paper or in the media and it deters one person from attending Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church so they never have to feel how I felt [that] Sunday, then Iā€™ll feel as though Iā€™ve accomplished something,ā€ Mack said.

Leaders of three D.C. Christian churches with mostly gay congregations have called on gay members of churches such as Greater Mount Calvary to consider joining their congregations. The leaders are Rev. Abena McCray, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church; Bishop Rainey Cheeks, pastor of Inner Light Ministries; and Rev. Dwayne Johnson, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Washington.

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Virginia

Va. House approves Ebbin resolution to repeal marriage amendment

Proposal passed with Republican support

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(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday approved gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria)’s resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The resolution passed by a 58-33 vote margin. State Del. Chris Obenshain (R-Montgomery County) is among the Republicans who supported it.

“Glad to report that SJ 249, my constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality, has passed the House of Delegates with bipartisan support,” said Ebbin after the vote.

The House last month approved a similar resolution that gay state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) introduced.

Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.

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District of Columbia

Protests against Trump executive orders to take place in D.C. on Thursday

Demonstrations will happen outside attorney general’s office, Kennedy Center

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The Kennedy Center (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Trump-Vance administration has taken an aggressive stance against the LGBTQ community by passing executive order after executive order that restricts the ability of transgender people to exist. In response, LGBTQ activists in Washington will take to the streets on Thursday to protest the slew of actions the White House has undertaken.

In back-to-back protests, demonstrators will rally against a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors, followed by a protest at the Kennedy Center condemning a newly imposed ban on drag performances at the venue.

The first protest of the day will take place outside the D.C. Attorney General’s Office (400 6th St., N.W.) to oppose Trump’s executive order banning gender-affirming care for minors. Originally scheduled for the previous day but postponed due to snow, the protest will run from 12-2 p.m. Organizers aim to pressure D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage to join 15 other states in issuing official public guidance against the order and declaring it unlawful. 

Under the D.C. Human Rights Act, passed by the D.C. City Council in 1977, discrimination based on gender identity and expression is explicitly prohibited. The law defines gender identity and expression as ā€œa gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individualā€™s assigned sex at birth.ā€ Trumpā€™s executive order, officially titled the ā€œProtecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilationā€ order, directly violates this act by banning all forms of gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth, effectively preventing them from accessing medical care necessary for their transition.

The 15 other statesā€™ that objected to the order include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

This protest was organized by the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America Bodily Autonomy Working Group, which focuses on ā€œthe fight for queer, trans, and feminist liberation and against systems of patriarchal capitalist oppression that devalue women and LGBTQIA+ people, under the guidance of reproductive justice.ā€ 

Organizers encourage protesters to bring friends and signs to get their voices heard. 

The second protest of the day will take place in Washington Circle in between the Foggy Bottom and West End neighborhoods to protest Trumpā€™s takeover of the Kennedy Center. Trump removed all 18 members that former President Joe Biden appointed to the Kennedy Center board and has started installing Trump loyalists into their roles. 

The sudden board shake-up was first announced on Truth Social, Trumpā€™s social media platform, as a response to what he called the boardā€™s lack of ā€œvision for a Golden Age in arts and culture.ā€ Many found this statement puzzling, given that Trump has openly admitted he has never attended a performance at the nonpartisan arts center.

The ā€œTrans & Queer Dance Party and Protest,ā€ which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the circle only a few blocks from the Kennedy Center, is an attempt by six DC based organizations to show the Trump administration that ā€œas D.C. residents, we say the Kennedy Center is our house, and weā€™re not going to let fascists tell us what to do or censor our artists.ā€ The collaborating organizations encourage supporters of art, drag, the Kennedy Center, and the LGBTQ community to show up in ā€œour best (warm) looksā€ to let the administration know that D.C. will not be silenced.

Richard Grenell, a gay man who served as Trumpā€™s ambassador to Germany in his first term, was given the title of ā€œinterim executive directorā€ of the Kennedy Center, tasked with realigning the arts center to better fit Trumpā€™s agenda. The announcement initially caused confusion because before this announcement, there had never been an acting director, but a president elected by the board.Ā Ā 

His agenda so far includes banning any performances in the famous performing arts center, including “Dancing Queens Drag Brunch,” “A Drag Salute to Divas,” and ā€œDixie’s Tupperware Party,ā€ which were put on at the Kennedy Center and aimed at adults. 

This protest was organized through a collaboration of six local left-leaning organizations. They include the DC Dyke March, Harrietā€™s Wildest Dreams, Occupation Free DC, Good Trouble Cooperative, and Claudia Jones School. 

For more information on the trans gender-affirming care protest, visit https://actionnetwork.org/events/schwalb-trans-rally or https://mdcdsa.org/. For more information on the Kennedy Center dance party protest, visit any of the organizers’ Instagram pages.

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District of Columbia

Bill to repeal D.C. home rule would jeopardize LGBTQ rights: activists

Measure introduced by homophobic lawmakers

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ā€˜Bowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city,ā€™ said U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn). (Washington Blade file photo by Giuseppe LoPiccolo)

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn) on Feb. 6 introduced legislation in the Senate and House calling for repealing the D.C. Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the cityā€™s limited home rule government with a mayor and city council.

The two lawmakers named the bill the ā€œBringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Actā€ or the ā€œBOWSER Act,ā€ saying in a statement that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was responsible, in part, for leaving ā€œour nationā€™s Capital in crime-ridden shambles.ā€

Lee and Robles each received a ā€œ0ā€ rating, the lowest possible rating, on the Human Rights Campaignā€™s Congressional Scorecard, which assesses the record of members of Congress on LGBTQ related issues.

Most political observers point out that far-right Republican lawmakers have introduced similar bills in the past, including one in 2024, which have died in committee with little support.

Both Democratic and some Republican lawmakers expressing opposition to the previous bills noted that under the existing D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress retains full authority to reject any legislation passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor. They note that Congress also retains authority to impose any law it wishes on D.C.

But some observers, including LGBTQ rights advocates, say the prospects of the current bill could go further with the current GOP-controlled Congress and at a time when President Donald Trump raised the issue of  alleged ā€œout of controlā€ crime in D.C. during his presidential campaign. Trump has said he plans to issue one or more executive orders targeting D.C. home rule.

The bill introduced by Lee and Ogles does not address or propose who or what federal entity would operate D.C.ā€™s local government after the Home Rule Act of 1973 is repealed. The two-page-long bill states, ā€œEffective on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93-198) is repealed.ā€

Prior to the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973, which Congress approved under the administration of then-President Richard Nixon, the city was governed by a commission whose members were appointed by the U.S. president and approved by Congress. A ā€œcommissioner-mayorā€ appointed by the president served as the head of the commission.

LGBTQ rights activists believe a similar type of governing body under the current Republican Congress and the Trump administration could pose a threat to the LGBTQ rights laws currently on the books in D.C., including the cityā€™s Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

ā€œRepeal of Home Rule at this time can only be a negative for the LGBTQ community, especially the transgender community, because of the virulent antagonism toward that community of the MAGA Republicans in control of Congress,ā€ according to D.C. gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein.

Howard Garrett, president of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.ā€™s largest local LGBTQ political organization, also expressed concern that repeal of D.C. home rule would pose a threat to the local LGBTQ community.

ā€œRepealing D.C. home rule would be a direct attack on our cityā€™s ability to govern itself and protect the rights of all residents, especially the LGBTQ+ community,ā€ Garrett told the Washington Blade. ā€œWashington, D.C. has been a leader in advancing LGBTQ+ rights, from nondiscrimination protections to access to affirming healthcare,ā€ he said. ā€œIf Congress were to strip away our autonomy, it would leave us vulnerable to reactionary policies that do not reflect the values of our residents.ā€

Garrett added, ā€œThis latest attempt to revoke home rule is nothing more than political interference that undermines democracy.ā€

In a joint statement released on the day they introduced their D.C. home rule repeal bills, Lee and Ogles denounced what they called a ā€œradically progressive regimeā€ of Bowser and the City Council.

ā€œWashington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness,ā€ Ogles said n the statement. ā€œBowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city,ā€ he said.

Lee stated, ā€œThe corruption, crime, and incompetence of the D.C. government has been an embarrassment to our nationā€™s capital for decades. It is long past time that Congress restored the honor of George Washington to the beautiful city which bears his name.ā€  

Daniel Solomon, co-founder of D.C. Vote, a local nonpartisan group that advocates for D.C. statehood, said in a statement that supporters of the home rule repeal bill were putting out misleading information about crime in D.C.

ā€œMake no mistake: This bill is a thinly veiled attempt to punish D.C. for political differences under the guise of public safety,ā€ he said. ā€œWe all agree that public safety is paramount, but dismantling home rule will do nothing to make our communities safer,ā€ his statement continues.

ā€œInstead, it will silence the voices of D.C. residents and threaten the progress weā€™ve made on criminal justice reform, economic growth, and local accountability,ā€ he said.

Bowser, who has declined to comment specifically on the current bill to repeal D.C. home rule, has pointed out that violent crime in D.C. dropped by 35 percent from 2023 to 2024 and property related crime declined by 11 percent during that same period.

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