Local
Virginia colleges mum on Cuccinelli letter
Public colleges and universities in Virginia were considering their options this week after state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli declared their policies barring discrimination against gays illegal.
Many student and LGBT groups mobilized against Cuccinelli’s letter March 4 to 40 school presidents, which says the institutions cannot treat sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination policies. But the schools largely reserved comment.
Only one major institution, Virginia Commonwealth University, released before DC Agenda deadline any official statement, but it said only that students, faculty and staff would be consulted.
Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) seemed to offer the schools a small reprieve earlier this week. A spokesperson affirmed the governor’s view that only the General Assembly can extend anti-discrimination protections to a new class, a view consistent with Cuccinelli’s advice.
But the spokesperson, Tucker Martin, noted executive branch appointments to school boards would not focus on this issue.
“The governor will appoint board members based solely on their ability and on their strong commitment to educational excellence in Virginia. The governor expects that no Virginia college or university, or any other state agency, will engage in discrimination of any kind.”
Equality Virginia CEO Jon Blair called on McDonnell to prove his stance against discrimination by asking the General Assembly to send him a bill adding sexual orientation to the state’s policy.
“Attorney General Cuccinelli’s letter was Gov. McDonnell’s opportunity to prove whether he was the Robert McDonnell who said through his entire campaign that he opposed discrimination or he was the Robert McDonnell who wrote the thesis from 20 years ago,” Blair said, referring to past writings where the governor opposed gay rights. “I think if he fails to act on this, he’s proven exactly which one he is.”
On Tuesday, the state House voted down a motion to force a vote on the bill that would have added sexual orientation to the state’s non-discrimination laws. The measure failed 55-42. The bill previously passed the state Senate, but did not make it out of subcommittee in the House.
One university’s diversity coordinator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some schools would defy the request if they could, but they would face significant political pressure to comply with the current administration.
Campus groups, meanwhile, have begun campaigns asking school administrators to ignore Cuccinelli’s directive. University of Virginia’s Queer & Allied Activism group began by uploading to Facebook photos of the attorney general that were doctored to poke fun at him.
Inspired by the grammatically incorrect lolcatz pictures, some photos of Cuccinelli included the words “In ur AG office … hatin’ on ur gays” and “Gays? We don’t have them in my state.”
One group on Facebook that stood against Cuccinelli’s letter, “We Don’t Want Discrimination in Our State Universities and Colleges,” gathered more than 4,000 members within days.
Seth Kaye, a second year engineering student at UVA and member coordinator of Queer & Allied Activism, said he felt hurt by the attorney general’s attack and wanted to know why anyone thought it was acceptable to go after LGBT people.
“I don’t understand how that can pass a rational basis test,” Kaye said. “It seems totally biased.”
UVA was making significant improvements toward offering services to LGBT students, Kaye said, including starting a queer studies minor program and a new gay fraternity.
“I hope the universities all come together and say we’re not going to follow this order,” he said. “Hopefully, if the state sues them, it turns out in our favor and maybe [we] even get sexual orientation as a protected class.”
With most students away from campus on spring break, Kaye said campaigning on the issue has been largely performed online, with a particular focus on Facebook and e-mail. He wondered if the letter’s timing was deliberate to avoid a more robust student backlash.
For his part, Cuccinelli took to local airwaves this week to defend his advice to schools. He said his letter was consistent with opinions of the state’s previous five attorneys general, which included three Democrats.
But on his Twitter profile, Cuccinelli was less cautious: “Still much sound and fury about simply stating what the law is now and has been pretty much forever in Virginia … but on a touchy subject.”
Fears that the Republican would use his office to advance a socially conservative agenda, rather than merely advise on law, were expressed as early as his campaign launch, including from vocal members of the Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia.
“Just as we feared, Mr. Cuccinelli is becoming an embarrassment to the entire state with his extreme views on this issue,” said David Lampo, vice president of the Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia.
“We call on Virginia’s state colleges and universities to resist this outrageous demand and to continue their policies of hiring and firing on the basis of merit rather than sexual orientation, and we call on Gov. McDonnell to end this legal limbo for gay and lesbian state employees by supporting a bill to outlaw employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
District of Columbia
Capital Pride chair resigns from board after just 10 months
Anna Jinkerson ‘taking step back to move forward’
Anna Jinkerson, who has served as chair of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors for the past 10 months and has served on the board for the past four years, confirmed she is resigning from the board effective Sept. 30.
Capital Pride Alliance serves as the lead organizer of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
“I am taking a step back to move forward and plan to stay engaged in the community,” Jinkerson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Serving as a volunteer leader during a period of transition following World Pride was both an honor and a challenge,” she said.
“Throughout my tenure, I focused on strengthening accountability, improving communications, supporting staff and volunteers, and helping position the organization for long-term success,” she told the Blade in her statement. “Meaningful organizational progress requires collaboration, dedication, and a shared commitment to serving the community, and I am proud of the work accomplished during this period.”
In February of this year, during Jinkerson’s tenure on the board, Capital Pride announced it had expanded the size of its board from 12 to 25 members.
Around that same time one of the existing board members, transgender activist Taylor Lianne Chandler, announced in a letter to fellow board members that the Blade obtained from an anonymous sender that she was resigning from the board. Among her reasons for resigning, she said in the letter, was the board’s failure to address “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization.
In the letter, which she confirmed for the Blade was authentic, Chandler said she and other board members raised “credible concerns” of alleged sexual misconduct within the Capital Pride organization and the board chose not to adequately respond to those concerns.
Chandler told the Blade a Capital Pride investigation identified an individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment related behavior, but said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that applied to all board members and she could not provide further details.
When the Blade contacted Capital Pride for comment on Chandler’s allegations, Jinkerson responded with a statement saying Capital Pride was addressing her concerns.
“When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” Jinkerson said. “As we continue to grow our organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” she said.
In her statement to the Blade this week commenting on her planned resignation from the Capital Pride board, Jinkerson appeared to refer to the concern raised by Chandler.
“I am proud to have advocated for sexual harassment training, supported staff and volunteers when concerns were raised, engaged community leaders in important conversations, and helped advance practices that strengthen safety, transparency, and accountability,” she said.
“As I step away from board service, I do so with gratitude for the opportunity to serve and with confidence in the organization’s future,” she added. “I am taking a step back to move forward, and I look forward to remaining actively engaged in our community and continuing to support efforts that advance equality, belonging, and pride for all.”
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
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