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Celebrations mark Kameny’s 85th birthday & more
Frank Kameny (Photo by Joe Tresh)
Celebrations mark Kameny’s 85th birthday
At least two events were set to take place this week to celebrate the 85th birthday of D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, who is credited with founding the LGBT rights movement locally and playing a key role in starting the modern gay rights movement nationwide.
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, which Kameny helped found in 1976, is hosting a reception in Kameny’s honor Friday, May 21, at the LGBT Community Center at 1810 14th St., N.W., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event was to include a special presentation on Kameny’s role in the D.C. LGBT community by fellow activist Paul Kunzler, another Stein Club founder.
A group of Kameny friends and fellow activists were scheduled to hold a separate event honoring his life’s work on behalf of gay rights on Thursday night at the Artist Inn Bed & Breakfast at 1824 R St., N.W., near Dupont Circle. The event, which was sponsored by Helping Our Brothers & Sisters, asked for donations from attendees to go toward a special Kameny fund that will “help support Frank Kameny in his later years of life,” according to an announcement of the event.
David Bradberry, a local activist and friend of Kameny, said local artist Don Patron, who was helping to organize the event, has made about a dozen oil paintings of Kameny. Bradberry said some were made from photos of Kameny taken in years past, including during his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. The paintings were to be sold in a silent auction at the event to help raise money for the Kameny fund.
“Kameny is the father of the modern gay movement, and his achievements are legend,” says the announcement.
“He was one of the leaders of the first gay rights demonstrations at the White House, State Department and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall — four years before Stonewall,” it says. “He founded or co-founded the D.C. chapters of the Mattachine Society and Gay Activists Alliance and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.”
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Marriage applications skyrocket in D.C.
The number of applications for a marriage license in the District of Columbia has continued to rise dramatically since licenses became available to same-sex couples in March.
According to Leah Gurowitz, a spokesperson for the D.C. Superior Court’s Marriage Bureau, as of May 18, the bureau received 2,213 marriage license applications since March 3, the day same-sex couples became eligible to apply for a marriage license.
Gurowitz said the Marriage Bureau doesn’t compile figures showing how many of the applications are from same-sex couples. But she said the 2,213 figure, which covers only a two-and-a-half-month period, can be compared to the 3,096 marriage license applications received by the bureau for the entire year in 2009.
“We can’t say that they are all same-sex couples,” said Aisha Mills, president of the Campaign for All D.C. Families, which successfully lobbied the City Council to pass the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. “But we can say that certainly this is the largest influx of applications they’ve had.”
Mills noted that she and her partner, who applied for a marriage license on March 3, encountered delays in scheduling a civil marriage ceremony at the courthouse.
“We were told the court had a backlog lasting through early June,” she said. “So for the first time ever, the court opened on a Saturday to perform ceremonies,” she said. “It was just one Saturday in late April, but it was the only time they have ever done that before to try to catch up.”
Gurowitz has said the backlog came about after far more same-sex couples applied for civil ceremonies at the courthouse than had been expected. She said steps have been taken to accommodate everyone that applies or a courthouse ceremony.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Capital Pride director to step down
The executive director of Capital Pride is planning to step down from her role following this year’s celebration.
Dyana Mason will leave Capital Pride Alliance at the end of July, when her contract expires, to pursue an advanced degree at the University of Southern California. Capital Pride Alliance announced Mason’s plans Friday.
Mason, who’s originally from California, is planning to pursue a doctorate in policy management.
Michael Lutz, president of the Capital Pride board of directors, said that while Mason “will be missed greatly, we also support and applaud her aspirations, and wish her the very best.”
“We were very fortunate to have Dyana with us as Capital Pride transitioned to its own self-perpetuating entity,” he said. “Her role as a servant-leader helped us to reach many of our growth goals earlier than expected.”
Capital Pride Alliance will post a formal job announcement to its web site, capitalpride.org, May 22. A selection process will take place over the summer, and Capital Pride Alliance aims to announce Mason’s successor this fall.
JOSHUA LYNSEN
Equality Virginia’s CEO resigns
The chief executive officer of Equality Virginia has resigned his position, according to a statement issued by the organization.
Jon Blair submitted his resignation April 30. Blair joined Equality Virginia in January 2009, notably taking the helm of an LGBT organization despite being straight.
Mark Board, chair of Equality Virginia’s board, said in the statement that Blair’s resignation was “unsolicited, unexpected and without notice.”
David Lampo, vice president of Virginia Log Cabin and a former Equality Virginia board member, said his understanding was Blair left Equality Virginia to take a job as campaign manager for Democratic Alaskan gubernatorial candidate Ethan Berkowitz.
According to the statement, Jean Segner, another Equality Virginia board member, will take up the role as interim CEO immediately and will serve without compensation.
Board said Equality Virginia is “fortunate to have board members ready to step up” to continue the work of the organization.
“The continuity of leadership offered by Jean Segner and our current staff ensures that [Equality Virginia] will continue to move forward effectively changing laws and changing lives,” Board said.
Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, Equality Virginia’s legislative strategist and general counsel, told the Blade the organization will be looking for a new CEO this summer after the membership of the board transition July 1.
“I suspect that the search process and all of that won’t … start until later this summer,” she said.
Lampo said those involved with the organization were “surprised and shocked” by Blair’s resignation.
“I think he did a reasonably good job given the constraints that a lot of organizations like that were under during the recession, with the substantially decreased funding, and decreased interest on the part of the GLBT community,” Lampo said.
Still, Lampo said Blair held a “political and partisan background” that affected his leadership at Equality Virginia.
“I think he always had trouble adjusting to the non-partisan atmosphere of an organization like Equality Virginia and the fact that he wasn’t down in the partisan trenches during election time,” Lampo said.
CHRIS JOHNSON
D.C. man guilty in anti-gay hate crime
A D.C. Superior Court jury last week rendered a guilty verdict for a bias-related assault and robbery against one of two men charged with attacking two teenagers in Southeast Washington in November.
The jury found Michael Cowan, 23, guilty of one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of assault with significant injury, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Both charges were considered bias-related.
The statement says witnesses observed Cowan calling one of the two victims, a 17-year-old male, a “faggot” during the attack. The second victim was a 19-year-old male, according to the statement.
The jury found a second defendant, Vernon Long, 25, guilty of robbery and assault-related offenses, but acquitted him of the government’s allegation that the two charges were bias-related.
The statement says the incident began the day before Thanksgiving as the two victims were leaving a convenience store along the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E. It says the two defendants attacked the victims from behind and demanded they turn over their jackets.
“While the second victim was huddled in the fetal position on the ground, Cowan and Long, along with accomplices, repeatedly punched and kicked the second victim in the face and body,” says the statement. “As the attack continued, Cowan (and possibly others n the group) repeatedly called the second victim a ‘faggot.’”
Both defendants face a possible sentence of more than 10 years in prison, and Cowan faces greater jail time under an enhanced sentencing provision in the city’s hate crimes law.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
District of Columbia
Sold-out crowd turns out for 10th annual Caps Pride night
Gay Men’s Chorus soloist sings National Anthem, draws cheers
A sold-out crowd of 18,347 turned out on Jan. 17 for the 10th annual Pride Night at the Washington Capitals hockey game held at D.C.’s Capital One Arena.
Although LGBTQ Capitals fans were disappointed that the Capitals lost the game to the visiting Florida Panthers, they were treated to a night of celebration with Pride-related videos showing supportive Capitals players and fans projected on the arena’s giant video screen throughout the game.
The game began when Dana Nearing, a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, sang the National Anthem, drawing applause from all attendees.
The event also served as a fundraiser for the LGBTQ groups Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services to homeless LGBTQ youth, and You Can Play, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing LGBTQ inclusion in sports.
“Amid the queer community’s growing love affair with hockey, I’m incredibly honored and proud to see our hometown Capitals continue to celebrate queer joy in such a visible and meaningful way,” said Alston Foundation Executive Director Cesar Toledo.
Capitals spokesperson Nick Grossman said a fundraising raffle held during the game raised $14,760 for You Can Play. He said a fundraising auction for the Alston Foundation organized by the Capitals and its related Monumental Sports and Entertainment Foundation would continue until Thursday, Jan. 22
A statement on the Capitals website says among the items being sold in the auction were autographed Capitals player hockey sticks with rainbow-colored Pride tape wrapped around them, which Capitals players used in their pre-game practice on the ice.
Although several hundred people turned out for a pre-game Pride “block party” at the District E restaurant and bar located next to the Capital One Arena, it couldn’t immediately be determined how many Pride night special tickets for the game were sold.
“While we don’t disclose specific figures related to special ticket offers, we were proud to host our 10th Pride night and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community,” Capitals spokesperson Grossman told the Washington Blade.
Virginia
Two gay candidates running in ‘firehouse’ Va. House of Delegates primary in Alexandria
Kirk McPike, Gregory Darrall hope to succeed delegate vying for Ebbin’s seat
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike and gay public school teacher Gregory Darrall, who serves as vice president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, are among four candidates running in a Jan. 20 “firehouse” Democratic primary for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
With less than a week’s notice, Democratic Party officials in Alexandria called the primary to select a Democratic nominee to run in a Feb. 10 special election to fill the 5th House District seat being vacated by state Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria).
Bennett-Parker won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who is resigning from the seat to take a position in the administration of Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who took office on Jan. 17.
Bennett-Parker won the nomination for the state Senate seat in yet another firehouse primary on Jan. 13 in which she defeated three other candidates, including gay former state Del. Mark Levine.
The Jan. 20 primary in which McPike and Darrall are competing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in two polling places in Alexandria: the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library at 5005 Duke St. and the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe St.
The other two candidates running are former Alexandria City School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and criminal law defense attorney Chris Leibig.
McPike, who first won election to the Alexandria City Council in 2021, served for 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) prior to winning election to the Alexandria City Council.
“Now, Kirk is ready to bring his experience to Richmond to keep improving the lives of all Virginians as our delegate for House District 5,” his campaign website says. His website writeup says he and his husband, Cantor Jason Kaufman, have lived in Alexandria’s Seminary Hill neighborhood for 15 years.
“As delegate, we can count on Kirk to keep delivering for us — helping Virginia maintain our commitments to our schools, our first responders, and our efforts to address climate change, housing affordability, and infrastructure,” the website statement says.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter and advocate, has been endorsed by Ebbin and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Beyer said in a statement that McPike “has a proven track record of delivering results for Alexandrians.” The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which raises money for LGBTQ candidates running for public office, has also endorsed McPike.
Darrall’s campaign website says he is a “proud progressive, lifelong educator, and labor leader running to put people first.” It says he is a political newcomer “with more than 20 years in the classroom” as a teacher who played a key role in the successful unionization of Fairfax Public Schools.
“He is a proud member and staunch supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community,” his website statement says. It says he met his husband Jose while living in Miami and the two operated a small business in South Florida for a decade before moving to Alexandria in 2015. It adds that Darrall is “fluent in Spanish, loves walking Alexandria’s neighborhoods, and is driven by a deep belief in fairness, equality, and strengthening our democracy from the ground up.”
The Alexandria Republican City Committee nominated local business executive Mason Butler as the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates seat in the Feb. 10 special election after he emerged as the only GOP candidate running for the seat, according to the Alexandria Brief publication. He will face the Democratic winner in the Jan. 20 firehouse primary.
“As Delegate for House District 5, I will be a fierce advocate for LGBT equality in the Virginia General Assembly,” Rivera stated. She praised Spanberger for signing an LGBTQ-supportive executive order on her first day in office.
Rivera added, “I will fight alongside her to restore and enforce the Virginia Values Act, advance marriage equality, and ensure robust nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, healthcare, and public accommodations.”
In his own statement, Leibig said, “I am as strong a supporter for LGBTQ rights as you can get.” Noting his role as a defense attorney specializing in criminal law, he added, “I regularly get calls from outside the commonwealth about defending trans people in situations where they are being treated terribly.”
He noted he was among the attorneys working on the first lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons in support of “gender reaffirming surgery for an inmate.” He said he represented transgender former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning in 2019 and was among those advocating for improved conditions for trans people in prisons.
“People of this community can count on me to support this community,” he said in referring to the LGBTQ community.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately reach GOP candidate Butler, who is running in the Feb. 10 special election but not in the Jan. 20 firehouse primary.
Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th governor of Virginia at a ceremony on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol on Saturday. Thousands of spectators watched the swearing-in ceremony and parade, despite the rain and temperatures in the low 40s.
Spanberger, a member of the Democratic Party and an LGBTQ ally, became the first woman to be Virginia’s governor.
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Newly-elected Attorney General Jay Jones, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Spanberger were each administered the oath of office in the public ceremony.
Republican former Gov. Glenn Youngkin left the ceremony shortly after the oath of office was administered to Spanberger and before the inaugural address.
In her speech, the new governor made an appeal to bipartisanship and looking past division in our current moment.
“To my friends in the General Assembly — on both sides of the aisle — I look forward to working with you,” said Spanberger. “I know what it means to represent your constituents, to work hard for your district, and to pursue policies you believe in. We will not agree on everything, but I speak from personal experience when I say that we do not have to see eye-to-eye on every issue in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on others.”
Spanberger acknowledged Virginians’ frustrations with federal layoffs and governmental policy.
“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington. You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities — cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals, and driving up costs,” said Spanberger. “You are worried about Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service.”
Spanberger alluded to the Trump administration, though never mentioned President Donald Trump’s name in her remarks.
Spanberger said, “you are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking the social safety net, and sowing fear across our communities, betraying the values of who we are as Americans, the very values we celebrate here on these steps.”
The new governor then spoke of her priorities in office, pledging to tackle housing affordability by working to “cut red tape” and increase housing supply. Spanberger also spoke of forestalling an impending healthcare crisis by protecting access and cracking down on “middlemen who are driving up drug prices.”
Spanberger spoke of investments in education at every level, standing up for workers (including the large number of federal workers in Virginia), and taking action on gun violence.
Virginia married couple Mary Townley and Carol Schall witnessed the inauguration ceremony from the stands set up on the grounds of the Capitol. Schall and Townley are one of the plaintiff couples in the case that challenged the Virginia constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Virginia in 2014.
“We are delighted with the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as governor of Virginia,” Schall told the Washington Blade. “The celebration of her inauguration was full of the beautiful diversity that is Virginia. The Virginia Pride contingent was included as a part of what makes Virginia a great place to live.”
“Such an honor to attend such a wonderful event in Virginia history,” Townley told the Blade. “The weather before the Inauguration was cold and rainy, but I believe it represented the end of a dreary time and it ushered in the dry and sunny weather by the end of the inaugural parade. Madam Governor brought us to the light!”
The inaugural parade following the governor’s remarks included a contingent from Diversity Richmond and Virginia Pride. Marchers in the LGBTQ contingent carried a giant Progress Pride flag and were met with loud cheers from the gathered spectators.
Spanberger after her inauguration signed 10 executive orders. One of them bans discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of
Virginia, I hereby declare that it is the firm and unwavering policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure equal opportunity in all facets of state government,” reads the executive order. “The foundational tenet of this executive order is premised upon a steadfast commitment to foster a culture of inclusion, diversity, and mutual respect for all Virginians.”
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