Local
Church groups are biggest donors to D.C. marriage ban effort
Two religious groups linked to Bishop Harry Jackson’s church in Beltsville, Md., have provided more than $102,000 in contributions to his campaign to ban same-sex marriage in D.C.
Contributions from the High Impact Leadership Coalition and Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact comprise slightly more than half of the $199,530 raised as of Jan. 31 to fight the city’s same-sex marriage law, according to reports filed with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance.
Nearly all of the $97,338 that reports show were contributed by other donors came from national anti-gay groups, including Focus on the Family, Family Research Council Action, the group’s political arm and the National Organization for Marriage.
The reports show Jackson gave $100 of his own money to two of the three committees he formed to ban same-sex marriage in the District. FRC official Chuck Donavan of Manassas, Va., and NOM executive director Brian Brown of Great Falls, Va., each made individual contributions of $50 to one of the three committees.
“No donations are from D.C. residents, unless you believe Harry Jackson actually lives in D.C.,” said gay activist Bob Summersgill, one of the leaders of the city’s same-sex marriage effort.
Summersgill was referring to allegations that Jackson and his wife continue to live in their home in Silver Spring, Md., and use a rented apartment in Southeast D.C. near the Washington Nationals stadium as an address to maintain D.C. residency.
City records show that Jackson registered to vote in the District for the first time on April 22, shortly before he filed papers for the first of three ballot measures he has proposed to ban same-sex marriage in D.C.
In response to a complaint challenging his city residency, local officials ruled last year that Jackson’s D.C. apartment and his D.C. driver’s license, among other factors, were sufficient proof that he met the requirements for city residency.
Neither Jackson nor a spokesperson for his church returned calls this week seeking comment for this story.
The Office of Campaign Finance reports show that one of the committees established by Jackson, Stand for Marriage D.C. Initiative, sought to place a voter initiative on the ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. The second committee, Stand for Marriage D.C. Referendum, sought a voter referendum on the issue, and the third one, Stand4MarriageDC, sought to prevent the City Council from passing a same-sex marriage bill.
Finance reports show the three committees spent a total of $146,499 as of Jan. 31 in those efforts. According to the reports, the money was partly used to hire two prominent public relations firms to build support for a ballot measure and to retain a law firm to challenge rulings against a ballot measure.
One of the public relations firms, Schubert Flint Public Affairs, worked on the 2008 Proposition 8 campaign in California, which succeeded in banning gay marriage. It also assisted the successful ballot measure campaign in Maine in November, which resulted in overturning that state’s gay marriage law.
Summersgill and other local activists were quick to note that Jackson and his supporters have so far lost on all three fronts, with the D.C. Council passing the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 in December and the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics and two judges ruling against Jackson’s call for a ballot measure.
The same-sex marriage bill the City Council passed and Mayor Adrian Fenty signed is expected to clear its congressional review and become law the first week of March.
“What’s Harry Jackson getting for his money?” Summersgill asked on the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance blog, GLAA Forum. “All of his efforts have been for nothing.”
Jackson and his supporters have argued the campaigns opposing same-sex marriage have galvanized city residents who are said to be outraged that they’ve been unable to directly decide on the issue through a ballot measure.
A Washington Post poll released two weeks ago appears to partially support the claim. While the poll shows that 56 percent of city residents surveyed support legalizing same-sex marriage in the District, it also shows that 59 percent favor allowing voters to decide on the issue through a ballot measure.
Last year, Jackson and his local supporters disputed claims by marriage equality advocates that same-sex marriage opponents are dominated by non-D.C. residents. Jackson and his backers have said a large number of D.C. residents, including many of the city’s black clergy, have joined the campaign to allow the city’s voters to decide directly whether gay marriage should be legal.
LGBT activists have argued, however, that many of the clergy helping Jackson are from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. They note that more than 100 D.C. clergy members have joined forces to support the same-sex marriage bill.
The election board has ruled three times since last spring that a ballot measure seeking to ban same-sex marriage in the city cannot be held because it would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. Two D.C. Superior Court judges have upheld the board’s rulings.
The board considered Tuesday yet another proposed ballot measure — this time an initiative seeking to ban gay marriage proposed by Ward 8 civic activist Joyce Little. It was not immediately clear when the board would rule on the issue.
High Impact Leadership Coalition and Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact are components of the Beltsville-based Hope Christian Church, where Jackson serves as senior pastor. His wife, Vivian Michelle Jackson, is listed on the church web site as executive pastor.
The church’s web site describes the High Impact Leadership Coalition as a non-profit, tax-exempt group that “exists to protect the moral compass of America and to be an agent of healing to our nation by educating and empowering churches, community and political leaders.”
The web site does not disclose the tax status of Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact, but its listing as an arm of the church suggests that it also has a tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) provision.
IRS rules prohibit tax-exempt religious organizations from engaging in partisan political campaigns on behalf of candidates running for public office. But the rules allow religious groups to become involved in some lobbying for or against proposed laws — including voter initiatives or referenda — as long as the lobbying is not a “substantial” part of their overall activity or expenditure of funds.
Neither Jackson nor a spokesperson for High Impact Leadership Coalition or Christian Hope Ministries group could be reached this week to determine the size of the two groups’ budgets or expenditure of funds. Neither group is listed by the non-profit watchdog organization Guidestar.org as having filed an IRS 990 public disclosure form that is required for most, but not all, tax-exempt organizations.
Without knowing the overall budget of the two groups, it could not be determined whether they are in compliance with or in violation of the IRS rules barring “substantial” lobbying activity by such groups. IRS rules stipulate that any “religious organization that engages in excessive lobbying activity over a four-year period” could lose its tax-exempt status.
Summersgill said he was considering filing a citizen request with the IRS calling for an investigation into the two groups.
Virginia
McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.
McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.
He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.
“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. moderated a panel at Dupont Underground on Feb. 8. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney’s Office drops hate crime charge in anti-gay assault
Case remains under investigation and ‘further charges’ could come
D.C. police announced on Feb. 9 that they had arrested two days earlier on Feb. 7 a Germantown, Md., man on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation after the man allegedly assaulted a gay man at 14th and Q Streets, N.W., while using “homophobic slurs.”
But D.C. Superior Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. violent crime cases, charged the arrested man only with simple assault without a hate crime designation.
In response to a request by the Washington Blade for the reason why the hate crime designation was dropped, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office provided this response: “We continue to investigate this matter and make no mistake: should the evidence call for further charges, we will not hesitate to charge them.”
In a statement announcing the arrest in this case, D.C. police stated, “On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and continued walking,” the statement says.
“The suspect assaulted the victim and used homophobic slurs,” the police statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers.”
It adds that 26-year-old Dean Edmundson of Germantown, Md. “was arrested and charged with Simple Assault (Hate/Bias).” The statement also adds, “A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
Under D.C.’s Bias Related Crime Act of 1989, penalties for crimes motivated by prejudice against individuals based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and homelessness can be enhanced by a court upon conviction by one and a half times greater than the penalty of the underlying crime.
Prosecutors in the past both in D.C. and other states have said they sometimes decide not to include a hate crime designation in assault cases if they don’t think the evidence is sufficient to obtain a conviction by a jury. In some instances, prosecutors have said they were concerned that a skeptical jury might decide to find a defendant not guilty of the underlying assault charge if they did not believe a motive of hate was involved.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed by D.C. police in Superior Court appears to support the charge of a hate crime designation.
“The victim stated that they refused to High-Five Defendant Edmondson, which, upon that happening, Defendant Edmondson started walking behind both the victim and witness, calling the victim, “bald, ugly, and gay,” the arrest affidavit states.
“The victim stated that upon being called that, Defendant Edmundson pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push,” the affidavit continues. “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay,” it says.
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