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GOP House members seek repeal of D.C. marriage law
Boehner says congressional relations with city improving
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told The Hill newspaper Tuesday that he’s certain that a group of conservative House Republicans will introduce legislation to overturn D.C.’s same-sex marriage law.
Jordan, who serves as chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said the committee would push for a vote on repeal of the D.C. marriage law in the 112th Congress. He did not give a specific date or specify whether the effort would be in the form of a freestanding bill or an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill.
“I think the RSC will push for it, and I’m certainly strongly for it,” he told The Hill. “I don’t know if we’ve made a decision if I’ll do it or let another member do it, but I’m 100 percent for it.”
Jordan was the lead sponsor in the 111th Congress for the D.C. Defense of Marriage Act, which called for defining marriage in the District of Columbia as a union only between a man and a woman.
That measure, which received 53-co-sponsors last year, is expected to pull in significantly more co-sponsors this year under the GOP-controlled House.
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) touched on the subject of congressional intervention in D.C. affairs in a news conference Wednesday but did not mention the D.C. same-sex marriage issue.
When asked to respond to critics who say Republicans advocate for state and local control everywhere but D.C., Boehner said, “This is a federal city. Under the Constitution the relationship between the federal government and the D.C. government has been a road that’s twisted in many different ways.”
He added, “But I think during the past 10 to 15 years there’s been a pretty healthy relationship between the city and the federal government.”
D.C. congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, said GOP House members have introduced bills to ban same-sex marriage in the city every year for the past several years, and an effort to do so again this year would not surprise her.
But she said she was hopeful that moderate Republicans would join Democrats in blocking such a proposal in the House. She said the Democratic-controlled Senate would be expected to kill such a measure if it clears the House.
“I can tell you that I’ve had a good conversation with an important Republican who’s not interested,” she said, in discussing an expected bill or amendment to overturn D.C.’s same-sex marriage law.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” she said. “But there are Republicans here who would not like to get all mixed up with social issues. And I was very pleased with this conversation I had because it’s an important Republican operator.”
She said she could not identify the Republican because doing so would jeopardize future conversations with the lawmaker.
Clarke Cooper, executive director of the national gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans, and Robert Kabel, the gay chair of the D.C. Republican Committee, released separate statements urging Jordan not to pursue legislation to repeal the District’s marriage law.
“Just two months ago, Congressman Jordan said to me, ‘Democrats are the party of government; we are the party of principle,’” Cooper said in his statement. “Today I am calling upon him to remember the core Republican principle that respects local government and states’ rights over interference from federal lawmakers.”
Kabel released a joint letter that he and Patrick Mara, a member of the D.C. Republican Committee and a D.C. City Council candidate, sent to Jordan calling on him not to interfere in D.C. affairs.
“As someone who has knocked on thousands of doors and spoken with countless families, marriage equality is an issue that must be preserved and protected,” Mara stated in the letter.
Kabel told Jordan in the letter that Republicans “saw tremendous wins this past November because they stuck with fiscal issues that matter to many Americans.” He called on the Republican Study Committee to reconsider its decision to push for repeal of the D.C. gay marriage law and “work with us on improving our city.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
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