Local
Cuccinelli dogged by protests at George Mason
‘A bigot is a bigot is a bigot’
Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette joined other local officials and George Mason University students Tuesday to protest the appearance of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli attracted 50 to 60 protesters when he appeared Tuesday at George Mason University — one day ahead of the college’s decision on whether it would follow his advice and remove its LGBT anti-discrimination policies.
State Dels. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), Robert Brink (D-Arlington) and Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette joined students and alumni from the university’s law school in condemning Cuccinelli’s efforts to outlaw LGBT anti-discrimination policies and block federal health care reform.
“Ken Cuccinelli promised to impartially carry out his role as attorney general,” Ebbin told the crowd. “He promised us not to impose his personal agenda on the commonwealth. When Cuccinelli breaks those promises we will call him out. A bigot is a bigot is a bigot.”
Ebbin said Cuccinelli wasn’t spending time on the office’s responsibilities, such as protecting Virginians from criminals, identity theft and fraud.
“To our attorney general, words like toleration and diversity are dirty words. He prefers words like discrimination and persecution. But he’s wrong. Hate is not a Virginian value — it’s not an educational value.”
Inside the university, Cuccinelli told law students that his March 4 letter to universities describing LGBT anti-discrimination policies as unlawful was not an invitation to discriminate.
Third year law student Michael Misiewicz asked if Gov. Bob McDonnell’s subsequent executive directive, which was purported to restore some anti-discrimination protections to LGBT state employees, changed the situation. Cuccinelli said it did not.
The executive directive was “an invention by the governor,” Cuccinelli told the students, bearing “no legal force or effect” and its weight would have to be measured by the courts.
Misiewicz said he came to hear Cuccinelli because he wanted the attorney general to be held accountable for his policies face to face, but was unconvinced by the legal basis the attorney relied upon, that LGBT protections were currently federal domain.
“It would hurt this school [if it chose to repeal LGBT protections],” Misiewicz said. “It would detract the best students who happen to be LGBT. … This school has opened a lot of doors for me, but it would really strip future LGBT students of that opportunity to connect and raise George Mason’s profile.”
“George Mason already has a reputation for being very conservative. If we lost this, it would be that much worse.”
Cuccinelli said his own letter did not hold as much legal weight as a more detailed official opinion, but was intended as advice to schools to repeal LGBT protections.
The attorney general noted that he personally opposes protections based on sexual orientation, but he would uphold them if passed by the General Assembly next year.
The state’s 2010 legislative session ended last week with the shelving of a bill that could have restored LGBT protections for state employees. The bill passed the Senate but died in the House General Laws committee.
In Maryland, that state’s legislature has until Monday to advance de facto parent and family leave entitlement laws that would include same-sex families.
Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Equality Maryland’s executive director, urged supporters to reach out to lawmakers before the crossover deadline. Bills must pass at least one chamber before the deadline to advance this session.
Some lawmakers opposed to the state’s recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages also are attempting to pass a moratorium on such recognition, and face a similar Monday deadline to advance that effort.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s newly recognized married same-sex couples have yet to be issued official advice on whether to file joint tax returns this year. With the filing deadline of April 15 looming, the state comptroller’s office told DC Agenda the issue was still being investigated.
“We are still reviewing the tax implication of same-sex marriage,” said Caron Brace, an office spokesperson. “Comptroller Peter Franchot believes that a comprehensive review of tax law should be thorough and thoughtful and no artificial deadline unless required by legislation.”
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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