Local
Va. guv’s former in-law stumps for LGBT rights
Trans woman asks McDonnell to support bias protections
A transgender Virginia woman is drawing media attention for her role in LGBT activism — and her familial ties to Gov. Bob McDonnell.
Robyn Deane of Midlothian, Va., is gaining notoriety for calling on McDonnell, her former brother-in-law, to come out in support of LGBT non-discrimination protections in Virginia.
“It’s just absurd that we have the issues that we have today,” she told the Blade. “I don’t want anybody to be discriminated [against] on any basis other than their ability to do a job, their qualifications for their job, their performance on the job.”
Virginia is among the 29 states where workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation remains legal. It’s also among the 38 states where such discrimination based on gender identity remains legal. McDonnell, a Republican, has said he doesn’t support legislation that would bar discrimination against LGBT people in state and public employment.
Deane, 55, was married to Ellen Gardner, the sister of Virginia’s first lady, Maureen McDonnell, for 17 years. They divorced in 1999 after Deane came out as transgender. The two have three adult children, ages 26, 22 and 19.
On April 21, in a rally at Capital Square, Deane addressed her ties to the McDonnell family and recalled how her coming out process showed him “the impact that all of this coming out and being who we are can have on one’s life.”
“He had a front-row, center seat because it is his family that was directly affected,” she said at the time.
The Washington Post published a profile of her last week that reviewed the impact she’s having.
Deane, who works as a store department supervisor for The Home Depot, said she’s received calls and more attention since the Post published its article, but her activism is “really about the cause.”
“I’m just the person that happens to have been related, or knew Bob, for all these years,” she said.
Stacey Johnson, a McDonnell spokesperson, said McDonnell’s relationship with Deane is “a personal matter” and that “the governor wishes Robyn the very best.”
Terry Mansberger, president of the Virginia Partisans, a statewide LGBT Democratic group, said Deane’s visibility is helpful and “puts the spotlight on the issue, especially for transgender people.”
“I’m not so sure how much it’s going to do to sway McDonnell, but he did campaign on a platform of being moderate, so this is a good opportunity for him to show support within his own family,” Mansberger said.
Mansberger said he hasn’t spoken with Deane since she emerged in activism, but is hoping to get her involved in Virginia Partisans.
But David Lampo, vice president of the Virginia Log Cabin Republicans, expressed skepticism about Deane’s motives and said her “publicity campaign is more about self promotion than moving GLBT rights forward.”
“Certainly, the people we need most to change their minds on this issue will be totally put off by this campaign and perceive it as an effort to embarrass the governor,” Lampo said. “A behind-the-scenes effort would have made more sense from a strategic perspective, but now it’s too late for that.”
Although she said she hasn’t spoken with McDonnell in more than a decade, Deane noted that she previously had conversations with him when she was married to his sister-in-law.
“We never really agreed philosophically,” she said. “I’m a Christian, and he is, so we come at it from different angles, and he’d say that he’ll pray for me because of something I said.”
Deane said McDonnell’s ties to conservative politics are well known because of his affiliation with Regent University School of Law, where he earned his law degree.
Still, Deane said she considered McDonnell a good friend until her divorce and said their families often visited each other when they lived nearby in McLean, Va.
“Because we’re of a similar age, and really education, it was always interesting talking,” she said. “You could have a conversation with him and you didn’t get chastised for feeling different. You could have a conversation that took on some meaningful discussion, almost where you could agree to disagree.”
Deane recalled that upon coming out as transgender, her former wife didn’t take the news well and the ensuing divorce divided their families.
As an activist, though, Deane said McDonnell should be a focus for LGBT activists in Virginia because of his position as governor and because he’s well regarded in conservative circles.
“He has that connection to the right and because they trust him, or at least they seemingly do, he’s in a unique position to make a difference,” she said, “because he’s witnessed what happens to a family when someone comes out.”
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s Blue Moon is for sale but owners aim to keep it in gay-friendly hands
$4.5 million listing includes real estate; business sold separately
Gay gasps could be heard around the DMV earlier this week when a real estate listing for Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Blue Moon bar and restaurant hit social media.
Take a breath. The Moon is for sale but the longtime owners are not in a hurry and are committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Tim Ragan, one of the owners, told the Blade this week. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney are separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale are listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They are listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price has not been publicly disclosed.
But Ragan, who has owned the Moon for 20 years, told the Blade nothing is imminent and that the Moon remains open through the holidays and is scheduled to reopen for the 2026 season on Feb. 10. He has already scheduled some 2026 entertainment.
“It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” Ragan said, noting that he turns 70 next year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
He said there have been many inquiries and they’ve considered some offers but nothing is firm yet.
Given the Moon’s pioneering role in queering Rehoboth Beach since its debut 44 years ago in 1981, many LGBTQ visitors and residents are concerned about losing such an iconic queer space to redevelopment or chain ownership.
“That’s the No. 1 consideration,” Ragan said, “preserving a commitment to the gay community and honoring its history. The legacy needs to continue.” He added that they are not inclined to sell to one of the local restaurant chains.
You can view the real estate listing here.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Tristan Fitzpatrick on his new position as Digital Communications Manager with TerraPower. TerraPower creates technologies to provide safe, affordable, and abundant carbon-free energy. They devise ways to use heat and electricity to drive economic growth while decarbonizing industry.
Fitzpatrick’s most recent position was as Senior Communications Consultant with APCO in Washington, D.C. He led integrated communications campaigns at the fourth-largest public relations firm in the United States, increasing share of voice by 10 percent on average for clients in the climate, energy, health, manufacturing, and the technology. Prior to that he was a journalist and social media coordinator with Science Node in Bloomington, Ind.
Fitzpatrick earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations, from Indiana University.
Congratulations also to the newly elected board of Q Street. Rob Curis, Abigail Harris, Yesenia Henninger, Stu Malec, and David Reid. Four of them reelected, and the new member is Harris.
Q Street is the nonprofit, nonpartisan, professional association of LGBTQ+ policy and political professionals, including lobbyists and public policy advocates. Founded in 2003 on the heels of the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Lawrence v. Texas, when there was renewed hope for advancing the rights of the LGBTQ community in Washington. Q Street was formed to be the bridge between LGBTQ advocacy organizations, LGBTQ lobbyists on K Street, and colleagues and allies on Capitol Hill.
District of Columbia
New queer bar Rush beset by troubles; liquor license suspended
Staff claim they haven’t been paid, turn to GoFundMe as holidays approach
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board on Dec. 17 issued an order suspending the liquor license for the recently opened LGBTQ bar and nightclub Rush on grounds that it failed to pay a required annual licensing fee.
Rush held its grand opening on Dec. 5 on the second and third floors of a building at 2001 14 Street, N.W., with its entrance around the corner on U Street next to the existing LGBTQ dance club Bunker.
It describes itself on its website as offering “art-pop aesthetics, high-energy nights” in a space that “celebrates queer culture without holding back.” It includes a large dance floor and a lounge area with sofas and chairs.
Jackson Mosley, Rush’s principal owner, did not immediately respond to a phone message from the Washington Blade seeking his comment on the license suspension.
The ABC Board’s order states, “The basis for this Order is that a review of the Board’s official records by the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) has determined that the Respondent’s renewal payment check was returned unpaid and alternative payment was not submitted.”
The three-page order adds, “Notwithstanding ABCA’s efforts to notify the Respondent of the renewal payment check return, the Respondent failed to pay the license fee for the period of 2025 to 2026 for its Retailer’s Class CT license. Therefore, the Respondent’s license has been SUSPENDED until the Respondent pays the license fees and the $50.00 per day fine imposed by the Board for late payment.”
ABCA spokesperson Mary McNamara told the Blade that the check from Rush that was returned without payment was for $12,687, which she said was based on Rush’s decision to pay the license fee for four years. She said that for Rush to get its liquor license reinstated it must now pay $3,819 for a one-year license fee plus a $100 bounced check fee, a $750 late fee, and $230 transfer fee, at a total of $4,919 due.
Under D.C. law, bars, restaurants and other businesses that normally serve alcoholic beverages can remain open without a city liquor license as long as they do not sell or serve alcohol.
But D.C. drag performer John Marsh, who performs under the name Cake Pop and who is among the Rush employees, said Rush did not open on Wednesday, Dec. 17, the day the liquor board order was issued. He said that when it first opened, Rush limited its operating days from Wednesday through Sunday and was not open Mondays and Tuesdays.
Marsh also said none of the Rush employees received what was to be their first monthly salary payment on Dec. 15. He said approximately 20 employees set up a GoFundMe fundraising site to raise money to help sustain them during the holiday period after assuming they will not be paid.
He said he doubted that any of the employees would return to work in the unlikely case that Mosley would attempt to reopen Rush without serving liquor or if he were to pay the licensing fee to allow him to resume serving alcohol without having received their salary payment.
As if all that were not enough, Mosley would be facing yet another less serious problem related to the Rush policy of not accepting cash payments from customers and only accepting credit card payments. A D.C. law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2025, prohibits retail businesses such as restaurants and bars from not accepting cash payments.
A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, which is in charge of enforcing that law, couldn’t immediately be reached to determine what the penalty is for a violation of the law requiring that type of business to accept cash payments.
The employee GoFundMe site, which includes messages from several of the employees, can be accessed here.
Mosley on Thursday responded to the reports about his business with a statement on the Rush website.
He claims that employees were not paid because of a “tax-related mismatch between federal and District records” and that some performers were later paid. He offers a convoluted explanation as to why payroll wasn’t processed after the tax issue was resolved, claiming the bank issued paper checks.
“After contacting our payroll provider and bank, it was determined that electronic funds had been halted overnight,” according to the statement. “The only parties capable of doing so were the managers of the outside investment syndicate that agreed to handle our stabilization over the course of the initial three months in business.”
Mosley further said he has not left the D.C. area and denounced “rumors” spread by a former employee. He disputes the ABCA assertion that the Rush liquor license was suspended due to a “bounced check.” Mosley ends his post by insisting that Rush will reopen, though he did not provide a reopening date.
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