Local
Lawmakers hail introduction of Md. marriage bill
Vote in Senate expected in February


Maryland Sen. Rob Garagiola at the podium. State Del. Mary Washington is to his right. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Members of the Maryland Legislature joined LGBT activists at a news conference at the state capitol in Annapolis Tuesday to formally launch a campaign to pass a same-sex marriage bill that backers introduced the previous week.
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act is expected to come up for a committee hearing in the State Senate the first week of February and likely will be sent to the Senate floor for debate and a vote as soon as Feb. 7, according to sources familiar with the measure.
Political insiders have said they believe supporters have the votes this year to pass the measure in the Senate, where it has died in committee in past years. And sources claim the House has had the necessary votes for some time to pass it.
āI am very proud to be a sponsor of this legislation,ā said House of Delegates Majority Leader Kumar Barve (D-Mont. County), who holds the No. 2 leadership position in that body.Ā āThis bill is a testament to what it means to be an American and what it means to be free and equal in our society.ā
Barve was one of more than 25 lawmakers and LGBT advocates and their supporters who attended the Jan. 25 news conference in Annapolis.
Sen. Rob Garagiola (D-Mont. County), the Senate Majority Leader and a sponsor of the marriage bill, told the gathering that gay and straight couples are āno differentā in their capacity to love one another.
āItās time that the rights already enjoyed by many who can obtain a marriage license in Maryland are enjoyed by all regardless of gender and sexual orientation,ā he said.
The official registry of bills on the Maryland Legislatureās website shows that the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act was introduced in the House of Delegates on Jan. 20 with 17 sponsors and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The registry shows that the marriage bill was introduced in the Senate on Jan. 21 with 18 sponsors, including Garagiola and Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), who is gay. It was sent to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of the statewide LGBT group Equality Maryland, the lead advocate for the bill, said another copy of the identical bill was introduced in the House of Delegates Tuesday with 56 sponsors, including Barve, whose name was not on the first House bill introduced last week.
āThis is the bill we will be pushing,ā she said. āItās very common to introduce more than one bill. It happens all the time.ā
The two-page bill calls for amending the stateās family law, which currently says, āOnly a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this state.ā The new language in the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would rewrite that provision to state, āOnly a marriage between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying is valid in this state.ā
A second provision in the bill states that āan official of a religious institution or body authorized to solemnize marriages may not be required to solemnize any marriage in violation of the right to free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by the Maryland Constitution and Maryland Declaration of Rights.ā
Backers say the latter provision, which is similar to a provision in D.C.’s same-sex marriage law, is aimed at assuring religious leaders that churches and other faith-based institutions cannot be forced to perform same-sex marriages.
Equality Maryland and the national same-sex marriage advocacy group Freedom to Marry jointly sponsored the Tuesday news conference.
Officials with both groups said they were hopeful that growing support for same-sex marriage in the state, as reflected in public opinion polls, would help supporters beat back a well-funded opposition campaign by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to defeat the bill.
NOM President Brian Brown said the group would immediately file a petition to bring a same-sex marriage bill before voters in a referendum if the legislature passes it and Gov. Martin OāMalley signs it. OāMalley, a Democrat, has said he would sign the bill if the legislature passes it.
A statewide poll commissioned by the Washington Post and released this week shows that 51 percent of Maryland voters favor a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 44 percent oppose such a law. Five percent had no response on the issue.
The same poll showed OāMalley had a job approval rating 58 percent, the highest approval heās had since becoming governor, according to the Post. Thirty percent of those polled disapprove of OāMalleyās job performance and 13 percent were not sure, the poll shows.
Although OāMalleyās stated commitment to sign a marriage bill has been widely reported in the media, the high approval rating hasnāt changed his decision not to take an active role in lobbying for the marriage bill.
And in a related development, OāMalley released his legislative agenda for the 2011 session of the legislature that includes at least 15 bills addressing a variety of issues, including healthcare, gun control, child welfare and promotion of electric vehicles.
Missing from OāMalleyās legislative agenda are the marriage bill and a separate bill expected to be introduced this year to ban employment discrimination against transgender residents.
Asked why OāMalley didnāt include the marriage and transgender bills in his agenda list, his press secretary, Shaun Adamec, said in an e-mail that the governor includes only those bills he introduces himself in his agenda list. Adamec said OāMalley supports additional bills that members of the legislature introduce and that he fully supports and plans to sign both the marriage bill and transgender rights bill.
āThe Governor has been very clear that achieving equity for all Marylanders continues to be a priority of his,ā Adamec said.
āWe are here today as part of a growing movement across the country toward fairness and respect for all families,ā said Sean Eldridge, political director of Freedom to Marry, at Tuesdayās news conference.
āSame-sex couples are now free to marry in five states and next door in the District of Columbia, as well as a dozen countries worldwide,ā he said. āAnd in each of these places, the sky has not fallen, and families have been helped, with no one hurt. Because there is no good reason to continue excluding same-sex couples from marriage, Freedom to Marry supports the work of our Maryland partners to pass the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act,ā he said.
āMake no doubt about it ā Maryland is ready for marriage equality, and we will not stop until it is no longer denied to our families,ā said Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County), one of five lesbian members of the House of Delegates.
District of Columbia
D.C.-area schools to protest Trumpās āassault on public educationā
Students unite against Trumpās education cuts in unprecedented protest

Student government leaders from multiple D.C.-area schools are coming together to protest recent Trump administration actions aimed at restricting student rights in America.
On Friday, April 4, at 4 p.m., the student governments of Georgetown, George Washington, Howard, American, George Mason, and Temple plan to protest the Trump-Vance administrationās efforts to dismantle public education at the Department of Education building (400 Maryland Ave., S.W.), just south of the National Mall. This āunprecedented coalitionā of higher education student governments in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region, representing 130,000 students, will gather to tell the administration to keep its āHands Off Our Schools.ā
In a statement emailed to the Washington Blade, Asher Maxwell, press coordinator for the Georgetown University Student Association, called this a āhistoric coalitionā and said the protest will highlight how Trumpās policiesādismantling the Department of Education, eradicating DEI initiatives, eliminating funding for academic programs and financial aid, and silencing student voicesāare affecting students.
Former middle school principal and U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, along with campus free speech advocate Mary Beth Tinker, known for her role in Tinker v. Des Moines, are slated to speak at the rally about the importance of public education and free speech amid what they call the administrationās disregard for the rule of law and constitutionally protected acts such as protesting and speaking out against the government.
The rally is expected to draw thousands of students, from college to kindergarten, as well as First Amendment supporters and those angered by the administration’s efforts to minimize the federal government. Since taking office, Trump has laid off tens of thousands of federal employees, including many within the Department of Education, as he and his senior adviser, Elon Musk, strip away protections and federal spending that disproportionately affect LGBTQ people, people of color, and students.
The Washington Blade reached out to the White House for comment but has not received a response.
District of Columbia
D.C. police investigating anti-gay assault in Shaw
Police say suspect punched victim in face after shouting āhomophobic slursā

D.C. police are investigating a March 7, 2025, assault case listed as a suspected hate crime in which an unidentified male suspect punched a man in the face on the sidewalk outside an apartment building after calling the victim and his male friend āfaggots.ā
The victim, Destin Karol, and his friend, Ian Dotson, both residents of Arlington, Va., told the Washington Blade the assault took place about 10 p.m. while they were walking along 7th Street, N.W. on their way to the Shaw-Howard University Metro station.
The two men said while walking in front of the upscale 7th Flats apartment building at 1825 7th St., N.W., they saw the male suspect and a woman he was with get out of a car parked in front of the building. Seconds later, they saw the woman vomiting on the sidewalk as they walked past her, the two men told the Blade.
At that time, the male suspect yelled, āWhat are you looking at, faggots,ā Karol and Dotson told the Blade. The suspect then punched Karol in the face āseveral times,ā according to a D.C. police report.
Karol said he was diagnosed the next day at a hospital in Arlington near his home with a broken jaw that required the jaw to be wired shut.
Dotson said D.C. police arrived on the scene after he called 911 after witnessing the suspect punching Karol, knocking him down and kicking Karol in the face while he was lying on the sidewalk.
Karol said an ambulance arrived on the scene and paramedics treated his facial injury with an ice pack and offered to take him to the hospital. He said he declined the offer, choosing to go home first. But upon experiencing intense pain the next day, he visited a medical clinic whose doctors told him to immediately go to the nearby hospital emergency room.
An initial version of the D.C. police incident report did not list the incident as a suspected hate crime. But a revised version of the report, which was issued after the Blade contacted police to ask about the earlier report, classifies the incident as a āsuspected hate crime.ā
The revised report states that the suspect, after telling the victim, āWhat are you looking at,ā proceeded to āclose fist strike Victim 1 in the left jaw area several times.ā It says Subject 2, who was Dotson, told police the suspect āyelled out homophobic slurs.ā
The report concludes by saying, Suspect 1 āwas last seen heading inside 1825 7th Street, N.W.ā
According to Karol, police so far have not changed the report, at Karolās request, to list the incident as an ‘aggravated assaultā rather than its current listing as a āsimple assault.ā Karol points out that under police policy, an assault-related injury that causes a broken bone should be classified as an aggravated assault.
Karol and Dotson said the police report also does not mention that they told the two police officers who arrived on the scene that they saw the suspect and the woman he was with get out of a car and they showed the two officers which car it was as it was parked in front of the apartment building.
Karol told the Blade he and Dotson asked at least one of the officers to take down the license plate number of the car, but the officer said it was not necessary for him to do so. Dotson said he recalls that the car was a white, 4-door Volkswagen hatchback with a Virginia license plate.
Dotson said he and Karol were disappointed that the police did not appear to take down the license number and he regrets that he did not write it down himself. But he said he recalls that the Virginia license tag consisted of all letters and no numbers, with the letters āINā as part of it.
He described the suspect as a white male appearing to be between 35 or 45 years old with brown hair and a goatee or beard.
D.C. police spokesperson Paris Lewbel said a Third District police detective has been assigned to the case and the case remains under active investigation. He said he could not comment on the issues raised by Karol and Dotson under a police policy of not disclosing specific details in an ongoing investigation.
Karol said he has been speaking with Detective Wilson, whose first name he does not recall, and said he most recently spoke with her on Tuesday, April 1. āTheyāre trying to get the license plate of this individual and theyāre trying to get the camera footage from the apartment building and the adjacent buildings,ā Karol said the detective told him.
Dotson said at the time the police arrived on the scene on the night of March 7, an employee from the 7th Flat apartment building who identified himself as the concierge came out of the building and told one of the police officers that he saw the male suspect and the woman he was with enter the building.
Police spokesperson Lewbel said he could not disclose whether the concierge was able to help police identify the suspect under the policy of not disclosing details of an ongoing investigation.
Police urge members of the public who may have witnessed an incident like this or who may know something about it, including the identity of a suspect, to call the police information line of 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Hundreds in D.C. rally for ‘trans dignity and justice’
‘We bow down to your charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent’

Before any visible signs of political protest or activism appeared in “America’s Front Yard,” the sounds of cheers, applause, and the faint melody of Madonna’s Vogue echoed through the air, audible from blocks away. As the Capitol came into view and the crowd neared 3rd Street, small groups of people adorned in bright pink, blue, and white gathered along the pebble-covered pathways and the soft, lush grass of the National Mall. The sun peeked in and out of the clouds as the Transgender Day of Visibility Rally began.
Since its official designation in 2009, March 31 has marked International Trans Day of Visibility. This year, with one of the most anti-trans administrations ever holding power in the White House (and in Congress), the urgency of visibility has never been more keenly felt. For those gathered, holding signs and standing in solidarity, this moment was a call to make trans people seen and heard.
The rally, organized by the Christopher Street Project, a trans advocacy group and PAC, brought together nearly 20 Democratic lawmakers on the National Mall to speak out against the Trump-Vance administrationās efforts to erase the trans community.
Tyler Hack, executive director of the Christopher Street Project and one of the driving forces behind the event, took the stage first. The tall, curly haired redhead was perfectly framed against the dome of the Capitol and the increasingly darkening sky ā a fitting backdrop to the growing frustration with the lawmakers inside.
As the crowd settled, Hack took a deep breath and began.
āThank you to the hundreds of people who showed up,ā Hack said. āWe have buses on their way, we have people who are coming after work, and we’ll make room for those folks as they keep joining us. And thank you to all of you for showing up to celebrate, to make your voices heard and to fight together for trans dignity and justice.ā

Hack founded the Christopher Street Project in January as a direct response to President Donald Trump and the far-rightās growing influence ā and their attempts to erase the transgender community. As Hack spoke, it became clear that the fight for trans rights was, at its core, a fight for survival.
āWe at Christopher Street Project believe that being a Democrat means more than just your party affiliation,ā Hack said. āIt’s about unapologetic defense of trans people wherever they’re being attacked, and in the face of this massive threat to all of our rights, in the face of what Trump and his billionaire cronies are unleashing. We demand more from the people we elected to protect us. We deserve more, and we say with all of the power that we have, powers have no place in Congress.ā
Hack continued, āOur guiding principle is courage; 56 years ago, that courage was demonstrated by the queer and trans people who led the Stonewall riots. My great uncle, Mark Scheer, was one of them. Beaten up in the Stonewall Riots for standing up for people like himself and standing side by side with his trans siblings. It was his courage and the courage of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera that ensured we would never be erased.ā
The crowd, now slowly filling the grassy lawn, erupted in cheers and clapping as Hack introduced the next speaker. Behind them, members of Congress began to exit their cars, re-reading their speeches for a final time while Christopher Street Project volunteers worked to keep the rally moving.
Rabbi Abby Stein, a trans activist and author, took the stage next. Her passionate speech felt like a sermon and a call to action against the transphobic forces in power.
āIt is our moral obligation to make sure that we are visible, so that all the people who came before us and the people coming after us will know that who they are is beautiful, that being trans isn’t just OK,ā Rabbi Stein said. āIt is something that is worthy to celebrate, and it is something that no one in the world can ever take away from you, regardless of how much military or police or physical abuse they try to use on us. A world without trans people never existed and never will, no matter how much they try. We have defeated fascist titans before and we will defeat them again.ā
Several speakers at the rally also highlighted the current administrationās disturbing parallels to fascist leaders of history. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark was one of those who called out transphobia and provided the crowd with insight into the Republicans’ strategy.

āRepublicans are trying to divide us and distract us so they can funnel more money and more power to a select few,ā said Clark, the House Minority Whip (D-Mass). āWe’ve been in these moments before, we know the playbook, whether it’s the ’30s in Berlin or the ’60s in New York or right now in Washington, D.C. They distract and divide and scapegoat so they can tear everybody down. This time they’re using this community, our trans community. They want Americans to believe that our LGBTQ neighbors are to blame for the challenges we face as a country. They hope that if we’re focused on all of us, we won’t notice that the Republicans are closing our public schools that they’re defunding Social Security, slashing our health care, firing veterans, increasing costs of housing and groceries and starting trade wars with our allies. And what is the point? What is the point of this reckless agenda to enrich the billionaire class? And it’s all part of one corrupt plot in MAGA America. The 1% have access to wealth, freedom, power and voting rights, but not for the rest of us.ā
Other members of Congress addressed Trumpās escalating attacks on the trans community.
āThe reason theyāre attacking all of these things is because they know what every authoritarian knows: Organized people, organized workers, marginalized people with autonomy and without fear, thatās a threat to their power,ā Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) explained. āThatās why theyāre coming for our books, our doctors, our teachers, our workers, and especially our trans youth. But theyāre not just a talking point.ā
āI want to say whatās happening right now, especially to our trans siblings, is cruel,ā Lee continued. āItās bullshit. It is not normal, and we will stand up against it. But this is not just a policy disagreement, itās not a debate. Itās by design. Itās targeting. And they are purposely going after some of the most marginalized people in our society.ā
Lee went on to address the chilling effects of Trumpās anti-trans executive orders on transgender Americans’ lives, particularly in places like Pittsburgh.
āThis is what Trump’s anti-trans agenda looks like,ā Lee added. āEven without a national ban, the fear, the pressure and the silence they create is doing the work for them. It’s making health care providers hesitate. It’s making institutions retreat. It’s making families feel isolated or abandoned or unsafe, and I just want to say it here, when you make it harder for children to be seen, to be loved, to be treated with dignity. That’s not just a policy failure. That is a moral failure.ā
Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) bluntly stated that Trumpās policies will lead to the deaths of LGBTQ people both in the U.S. and abroad, citing the severe consequences of his cuts to foreign aid programs like PEPFAR, the Presidentās Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
āHis actions and those of Republicans who bend the knee have severe consequences,ā Kelly said. āIt threw global healthcare programs into chaos, especially PEPFAR. For over 20 years, PEPFAR saved over 26 million lives worldwide, and has been a lifeblood and a lifeline for LGBTQ plus people in the face of stigma and discrimination in many countries, especially in places where being true to yourself comes with immense risk. PEPFAR is the only program that provides HIV prevention, treatment, and care.ā
āWe are just five years away from ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic,ā she added. āOur progress cannot stop.ā
The rally ended with an unexpected but powerful appearance by actress, director, and producer Lena Dunham, who spoke about her experiences living with her trans sibling, Cyrus Dunham.
āWhen I asked my sibling what he might want to hear me say today and what he did not want me to say, which included phrases like āboots the house down, mama,ā he made it clear that there would be enough dialogue about what impossible odds are faced right now for the trans community, especially trans youth and trans people of color, and enough conversation about the horrific abuses that the government is attempting to commit and the rights they’re attempting to take away and already in the process of doing,ā Dunham shared. āHe said, my only job is to express how special, sweet, fab, fun, delightful and divine it is to be embraced by trans people, to live in proximity to trans lives, and to call this community our community.ā
āWe love you, we see you. We bow down to your charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, and we are so lucky to love you and to fight with you and for you, to learn from you and to ensure that our rights are inseparable from yours,ā the “Girls” star added. āTrans lives don’t just matter. They transform the world into a place of possibility, joy, and discovery.ā
As the sun began to set and the rally wound down, Hack reflected on the significance of the event.
āBeing resilient in this moment is about continuing to be yourself and continuing to exist, because being a trans person in this moment is, in and of itself, resistance,ā they said. āMaking sure that folks have the support that they need, being a good ally to those people is resistance and making sure that trans people in your life know that they have your support is critically important, and is the number one way that we can resist these attacks.ā
For more information on the Christopher Street Project, visit christopherstreetproject.org.
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