Local
O’Malley reiterates marriage pledge
Equality Maryland endorses Maryland governor
Gov. Martin O’Malley told Equality Maryland supporters this week that he would sign a marriage equality bill if re-elected and the legislature passes it. (Washington Blade photo by Brandon Waggoner)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Equality Maryland officially gave its endorsement to Gov. Martin O’Malley at its ninth annual signature gala Sunday night.
“The governor has a strong record from his days on the City Council, as mayor and as governor,” Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, said in endorsing O’Malley in next week’s election. “The choice is clear – the former governor who did not even believe that same-sex couples should be able to visit each other in the hospital or our current governor who has pledged to sign both of our key initiatives?”
O’Malley, a Democrat, who is running for re-election against former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, was one of the special guests at the gala, which was held at the Samuel Riggs Alumni Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
“Two different governors, two different choices,” O’Malley repeated throughout his speech to nearly 400 attendees, referring to policy decisions made by Ehrlich and his decisions on the same topics, such as hospital visitation rights. “I’m running against the alternative.”
Each time O’Malley mentioned his opponent’s name, attendees showed their displeasure by hissing in response. He urged everyone to vote and to make sure their friends and family vote as well.
“Do not believe these polls,” O’Malley said, adding they were only accurate if everyone actually went out and voted.
The governor addressed same-sex marriage during a debate last week with Ehrlich sponsored by the Washington Post.
“I stood with [Attorney General] Doug Gansler on recognizing out-of-state marriages,” O’Malley said. “When the General Assembly passes an equality bill, a bill regardless of labels, that protects equal rights, I will sign it so long as it has religious protections.”
O’Malley has a complicated history on marriage rights. After initially supporting marriage equality, he backtracked in 2007, after the state high court ruled against same-sex marriage in Maryland. That year, he told the Blade in an exclusive interview that he supported civil unions but would sign a marriage equality bill if the legislature passed it. He has reiterated that pledge during this year’s campaign, while maintaining his support for civil unions.
The audience seemed happy about O’Malley’s remarks, cheering and clapping throughout his speech.
“I was pleased. He specifically mentioned his commitment to ensuring that the state’s anti-bullying law is fully enforced, which in light of the tragic deaths of so many young, LGBT people in recent months is more important than ever,” Meneses-Sheets said. “ But most important, he talked about equal treatment under the law for all Marylanders and all families.”
O’Malley mentioned Tyler Clementi in his speech before reminding attendees that he signed a bill creating an anti-bullying policy in 2008, which set standards for all public school systems in the state.
O’Malley did not take questions from the media after his speech.
Gansler followed O’Malley and gave a short speech, saying the governor and his wife are 100 percent behind the issues Equality Maryland is fighting for.
Gansler received a standing ovation when after saying it was great that out-of-state marriages were recognized, added, “It is absurd people can’t get married here in Maryland.”
Lea Gilmore and Scott Davenport were both honored at the gala as part of the program. Gilmore was awarded Ally of the Year and her husband accepted the award, reading an e-mail she sent from Germany.
Davenport, president of Equality Maryland, received the Legacy Award for his work with the organization and outside of it.
“Trust me, everything can be fixed, I know that, I have kids,” Davenport joked when he dropped his award and it broke.
Davenport also donated $20,000 to hire a lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session, on the condition that the organization raise funds to match his donation.
Immediately after this announcement, attendees began shouting out donation amounts, including Meneses-Sheets.
They raised at least $20,500 from those donations. Equality Maryland is still working on figuring out how much was raised from tickets to the event and the silent auction.
Officials from Equality Maryland described the event as a success.
“The room was bursting at the seams,” Meneses-Sheets said. “We had more state and local lawmakers than ever come out and stand with us. We had a great program demonstrating our ties to communities of faith, communities of color, labor and our statewide elected officials. But most important, people had fun and left inspired to keep up the fight.”
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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