Local
No progress on key LGBT priorities during Md. session
Equality Maryland director looks back as legislature adjourns
The executive director of Equality Maryland said although state lawmakers didn’t act this year on two LGBT priorities, progress was made in the recently ended legislative session.
Morgan Meneses-Sheets talked with DC Agenda about that progress, this year’s biggest accomplishments and disappointments and the work that remains to be done.
DC Agenda: You just experienced your first Maryland General Assembly session as executive director. What are your thoughts regarding the process?
Morgan Meneses-Sheets: While we are disappointed that our two key priorities — marriage equality and gender identity anti-discrimination — did not move this year, we have made progress. We knew going into the 2010 session that it was a building year. The Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Protection Act gained four new co-sponsors in the General Assembly, including the chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, where the bill is heard in the State Senate. …
The Gender Identity & Expression Anti-Discrimination Act gained four new co-sponsors from key geographic areas across the state. For the first time, the Maryland AFL-CIO came out in support of the gender identity bill and testified at the hearings. This is a big move forward in terms of our relationships with the labor community. We also had a wide range of coalition partners standing with us on these bills and other proactive efforts.
We are also pleased that we were successful in halting a large number of bills aimed at rolling back our rights, including bills to invalidate out-of-state [marriage] licenses, bills to halt state agencies from honoring out-of-state licenses and constitutional amendments that could have not only eliminated future access to civil marriage, but also prevented any type of recognition, including the many partnership protections that we won in the past, including medical decision making, the inheritance tax exemption and hospital visitation.
DC Agenda: What do you see as your major accomplishment and what was your biggest disappointment during the session?
Meneses-Sheets: It was a busy session. We worked hard to continue to build momentum and prevent setbacks. We organized successful hearings, had a large lobby day turnout, generated media attention, engaged activists and lobbied legislators, mobilized new activists, held legislative briefings and identified new coalition partners. We are in a stronger position than at the start of the session and that in itself is truly a major accomplishment. …
For me, the biggest disappointment was the turn of events around the de facto parent bill. This bill provides an individual who has served in a parental role with a minor child with the duties and obligations, as well as the protections of being viewed as a de facto parent by judicial determination. An individual must satisfy a set of standards to be granted de facto parent status in order to be granted the right to request custody and visitation. …
Children deserve the continuity and security of having lasting relationships with those who parent them. Sadly, this bill never had a chance because our opponents [acted] to twist a procedural rule to forward their anti-gay agenda on the back of this bill. We were warned that because marriage is under Family Law and custody is under Family Law that they would have the ability to add an amendment to this bill that would prevent the recognition of the [state] attorney general’s opinion [recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages]. We were concerned that they might have the votes in committee to do so. We had also heard threats that they would try to wage a nasty battle on the floor to strip protections for same-sex couples. We talked with our sponsors and in the end had to agree to pull the bill.
This is a truly sad example of how the political process can work at times. It is also yet another example of anti-gay extremists ignoring their own pleas for family values when they ignore the needs of our families and our children in order to advance their personal agendas.
DC Agenda: By the end of 2010, we will have completed four years with a Democratic governor and a majority of Democrats in the General Assembly. But other than adding names as co-sponsors, the bills to provide transgender protections and marriage equality have not advanced out of committee. Why should the next four years be any different?
Meneses-Sheets: A great deal of progress has been made in the past four years. We expanded protections available to LGBT couples, including statutes to protect hospital visitation and medical decision-making and a repeal of the inheritance tax for domestic partners. We beat back efforts to repeal rights for transgender residents of Montgomery County. We also successfully fought back each and every attempt to set us back. There are many states where that is not the case. This in itself is something to celebrate. We continue to gain ground in Maryland in our efforts to create true and lasting equality.
Adding new co-sponsors is an important endeavor. These are people signing their name on the dotted line and committing to stand with us when these important issues come up for a vote. This is also proof of the ever-increasing momentum behind equality not only here in Maryland, but throughout the country. … The next four years can and should hold much more for the LGBT community.
District of Columbia
Nearly 6,000 turn out for Pride Night Out at the Nationals
Gay Men’s Chorus sings National Anthem
“Just shy of” 6,000 people purchased tickets for the Wednesday, June 24, 21st annual Pride Night Out at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, which the Nationals said is the longest running LGBTQ Pride event in Major League Baseball, according to a Nationals spokesperson.
The event was organized with the Nationals by Team D.C., the local LGBTQ sports group that organizes similar Pride Nights for other professional D.C. area sports teams.
“It was a good time had by all as the Nationals celebrated the LGBTQ+ community during the Nationals 21st Pride Night Out, presented by Team D.C.” the Nationals said in a statement.
Nationals spokesperson Erica George said the overall game attendance was 27,200.
Similar to recent past years, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington sung the National Anthem at the start of the game, drawing loud cheers from people throughout the stadium.
The Nationals lost the game to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-4. Although most of the LGBTQ attendees of the event, held in the right-field mezzanine section of the stadium, were cheering for the Nationals, a sizeable number also cheered for the Phillies.
Miguel Ayala, one of Team D.C.’s lead organizers, said he noticed fans displaying Pride flags and recognized LGBTQ people in all parts of the stadium, indicating significantly more LGBTQ people and their supporters attended the game beyond the close to 6,000 or more who purchased the specific Pride Night Out tickets.
“It was a great excitement last night,” he told the Washington Blade on the day following the event. “I saw a lot of big crowds of our people, I saw everybody I can think of in the community. And it was really great to see the turnout.”
Also, like in previous years, Team D.C. along with the Nationals helped to organize a pre-game show on the large concourse platform area next to the stadium seating area involving a drag show led by local drag performer Shi-Queeta Lee.
“During pregame ceremonies, the Nationals Pride employee resource group was recognized on the field,” the statement released by the Nationals says. “Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a physician and public health leader who has had a profound impact on the LGBTQ+ community and those living with or vulnerable to HIV, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the guest of Team D.C.,” the statement says.
It adds that Team D.C.’s scholarship recipient Spencer Doll made the ceremonial call to “Play Ball.”
As if all that were not enough, a Nationals employee who entertains during the Nationals pre-game shows on the field dressed as a giant eagle named “Screech” wearing an eagle’s head mask appeared in the seating area where the Pride Night Out crowd was seated and mingled with the LGBTQ fans, many of whom posed for photos with Screech.
District of Columbia
Washington Blade names new publisher
Longtime ad exec Brian Pitts to assume role from Lynne Brown
The Washington Blade announced this week that its longtime publisher, Lynne Brown, who has worked at the publication for nearly 40 years, is retiring from her day-to-day duties.
Blade co-owner and longtime advertising executive Brian Pitts will assume the role of publisher effective June 26.
Pitts, 46, is a native of Fredericksburg, Va. In 2004, he moved to Washington, D.C., from Rehoboth Beach, Del., to work at the Blade as a 24-year-old sales executive. Pitts, along with Brown and Blade Editor Kevin Naff have owned the Blade since 2009. Pitts has served as the Blade’s lead sales executive since then.
“We’ve been through a lot over the last 17 years, including a recession and a pandemic,” said Pitts. “Lynne has been a steady hand throughout and I’m excited to take the reins and help steer the Blade into its next chapter.”
Brown will assume the title of publisher emerita and remain a part owner of the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade and contribute to the business via special projects.
As for what’s next, she said, “I will take the summer to regroup. I have one more LGBTQ community project in mind, and a few personal goals to check off the list. I am a Washingtonian. I will continue to live, work, and love here in D.C. Of course every Friday morning, I will grab a cup of coffee and read the Blade.”
Asked what advice she has for Pitts as he takes over the publisher’s job, Brown replied, “Brian is going to be great. He has all the skills needed to run this business. He also has a deep, silent passion for the Blade. My only advice: Slow and steady wins the race.”
Pitts said his primary goal as publisher is to ensure the Blade continues its mission as America’s LGBTQ news source.
“Another goal is to reach a younger audience and to include an educational component,” he added. “Some younger community members may be newer to the Blade and less familiar with LGBTQ history. Recently, we published a special commemorative magazine to coincide with America 250, chronicling LGBTQ history and contributions to U.S. culture. It’s so important not to let our history get erased and to remember where we came from and to work toward where we want to go.”
He described the biggest challenge to queer media as the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI.
“We have companies that have advertised with us for years who are now afraid of the potential consequences,” he said.
Brown joined the Blade in 1987. She was named publisher in 2007 by previous owner Window Media. In 2009, Window Media filed for bankruptcy; shortly after, Brown, Naff, and Pitts acquired the Blade’s assets from the bankruptcy court and relaunched the brand with Brown as publisher.
She said the period after the bankruptcy became her biggest challenge as publisher.
“The crisis that birthed Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia kept me overly focused on millions of details,” she recalls. “My greatest personal challenge was delegating and letting go of details. Trusting staff with their strengths and skills to do their jobs was slow to come. It has proved to be most rewarding. Building the right team — knowing the people you work with are committed, professional, and honest — is a great thing.”
Pitts described the bankruptcy and rebirth of the Blade in 2009 as his proudest moment with the company.
“Working at the paper has been great, but becoming a co-owner was a dream come true,” he said.
Naff praised both of his colleagues.
“Lynne has been a rock, helping us navigate financial crises and a pandemic. The Blade wouldn’t have survived without her dedication,” he said. “She is the publisher every editor would want. Brian has terrific instincts, a passion for the Blade’s important mission, and an eye on growth. I am proud to call both of them friends and mentors and look forward to the next chapter.”
Asked why LGBTQ media are still relevant, Brown cited the recent erosion of queer rights as evidence that the Blade’s work remains important.
“The Blade helps fight invisibility and isolation,” she said. “We may have rights today, but we have seen rights eroded or erased. The Blade reports on those rights authentically and accurately and serves as a communication tool and a historian for the community.”
Pitts added, “While mainstream media may cover LGBTQ+ issues, no one covers them quite like us. These are our community’s stories and voices and this is your news source.”
The Blade will host a happy hour event later this summer where the community can meet Pitts and thank Brown for her decades of service.
Delaware
Vote to enshrine same-sex marriage in state constitution fails in Delaware
‘General Assembly turned its back on the people of this state’
The Delaware General Assembly on Tuesday failed to pass Senate Bill 100 (SB-100), an amendment that would add protections for same-sex and interracial marriage to the Delaware Constitution.
In order for the bill to pass, 28 out of 41 members needed to vote ‘yes,’ meaning all 27 Democrats and one Republican needed to vote in favor of the bill.
Rep. Eric Morrison (D-27) told the Blade that an anonymous Republican member agreed to vote in favor prior to the vote but ultimately did not follow through on that promise.
“It’s a shame,” said Rep. Morrison, who’s gay. He explained the difficult nature of passing this amendment with only three legislative days remaining in this session.
The bill needs to receive a two-thirds majority vote in two different sessions and the current two-year long session ends on July 1. Thus, if the bill does not pass before July 1, it will take a minimum of three years to pass the amendment.
The bill was introduced by State Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-07) on June 5, 2025.
Rep. Josue Ortega (D-03) was one of two Democrats to not vote in favor of the bill, voting ‘no.’ Rep. Ortega has not responded to the Blade’s request for comment.
Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-27) was the other Democrat missing from the ‘yes’ votes. She did not vote on the bill.
Sponsor of the measure, Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-14), made a technical decision to reverse her vote from a ‘yes’ to a ‘no’ last-minute in order to keep the bill alive.
In a Facebook post, Rep. Snyder-Hall said that, “The General Assembly turned its back on the people of this state.”
“When we had the chance to add an extra layer of protection from attempts to turn back the clock and strip our constituents of the rights that Democrats fought for decades to secure, we failed,” said Snyder-Hall.
However, Snyder-Hall said that the failure to pass this bill is not the end. “There are still three legislative days left in the 153rd General Assembly and I am hopeful that we will be able to get the votes required to pass this incredibly basic — but important — bill.”
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