Local
Former Blade employee victim of anti-gay attack


Aram Vartian (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A former Washington Blade videographer was punched in the face and knocked to the ground outside his apartment near the Washington Convention Center on Nov. 10 by a male attacker who shouted anti-gay slurs.
Aram Vartian, 34, who currently works for Metro Weekly, said the attack came minutes after he walked a male friend to his car and the two men bid farewell by hugging each other near 10th and M streets, N.W., about 9:30 p.m.
“I gave him a hug. It was a bit of a lingering hug,” Vartian said. “He got into his car, I waved to him and turned to walk back home. I took about 10 or 15 steps and this guy ran up behind me and punched me in the face — in the right cheek and nose area.”
According to Vartian, the unidentified male attacker, who was black and appeared in his late teens or early 20s, stood over him and screamed at him with his fists clinched and a scarf pulled over his face. Minutes earlier, Vartian said he saw the attacker standing with about 10 other young men a short distance from where Vartian stood with his male friend, gay singer and songwriter Tom Goss.
“It was faggot this and faggot that and not in this neighborhood,” Vartian quoted the attacker as saying. It was a diatribe. He was screaming in a rage.”
Two of the other youths who had been with the attacker rushed over to where Vartian was assaulted and grabbed the attacker and pulled him away from him, Vartian said.
“They said, ‘We’re sorry, sir. He’s drunk. Please don’t call the police,’” Vartian said the other two told him.
But Vartian did call police, who responded within minutes to take a report of the incident, which they classified as an anti-gay biased related simple assault. Vartian said that within a few minutes of their arrival police drove him to a nearby location where other officers had detained two youths observed fleeing from the scene.
The officers asked him to look at the two in a makeshift lineup while he sat in the police car, but he said he could not positively identify either as the person who assaulted him.
Capt. Edward Delgado, who oversees the police’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said police are seeking witnesses to determine if others could identify the person who assaulted Vartian. A GLLU officer also arrived on the scene, said Vartian. He praised the officers for being attentive and helpful.
Vartian said he declined a police offer to call paramedics to examine him. He said he suffered a bruised face but doesn’t consider his injury as serious.
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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