Local
Local couple wins $100,000 wedding contest
Buoyed by support from family, friends and strangers
Thanks to the votes of thousands of supporters, D.C.’s Carl Cox and Darin Henderson have won a prestigious national wedding contest. The couple will receive a wedding package from local vendors worth a jaw-dropping $100,000 that covers the rings, ceremony, reception and everything in between.
“They are an amazing couple,” said photographer Michael Kress, who launched Freedom2Wed to celebrate D.C.’s legalization of same-sex marriage. The online competition, which attracted more than 22,500 votes, turned out to be a close race among the six finalists.
Last week, event organizers ambushed Cox and Henderson at their home, Publishers Clearinghouse-style, to announce that they’d won. With Champagne and cupcakes in hand, Kress delivered the news to the somewhat shell-shocked pair—and captured it all on video.
“When they knocked on the door, I was expecting them to say, ‘congrats you came in second’ or something,” Cox said. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”
“It’s wonderful beyond words,” Henderson said. With the camera still rolling, they called their mothers — who had been working feverishly to gather votes on their behalf — to tell them the news.
“Awww, my boys won,” an emotional Cherrie Henderson said, while on speakerphone.
Cox and Henderson told the Blade that in addition to that of their mothers, the support they’ve received from friends, coworkers, and even complete strangers has been “completely heartwarming.”
“We were floored that so many people offered to help,” Cox said.
To pull in last-minute votes, a large group of friends rallied at the 11th hour by spreading the word at local festivals and around the community. They set up tents, handed out cards, and asked whoever would listen to vote for the couple. Cox and Henderson even gathered support from fellow passengers and crewmembers during a cruise they went on in late September.
What’s been most surprising about the entire journey, the couple acknowledged, is the number of allies they gained who hadn’t always been supportive of gay marriage. “A lot of that had to do with stepping up to the plate and being so public about [being gay],” Henderson said, which came with the territory of the contest.
Now that the competition is officially over, Cox and Henderson are looking forward to kicking back and starting the fun part — the planning. Having been to their share of straight weddings, they hinted that they’re aiming for something a little more “quirky.”
Cox envisions an “eclectic” event that matches the “ying and yang” of their sometimes serious, sometimes silly personalities. “We would like it to be both comical and heartfelt,” he said.
The pair plans to hold the ceremony at the Metropolitan Community Church of D.C. and the reception at the Long View Gallery, one of the contest’s participating vendors.
Although the date hasn’t been set yet, Henderson hopes it can be scheduled for March 4 — the day of the couple’s five-year anniversary.
“That way, I’ll have one day to remember in my life, not two,” he said.
(Photo by Michael Key)
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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