Local
Md. senator key to marriage vote
‘Yes’ from Conway puts measure over the top
Conway
At least 23 members of Maryland’s 47-member State Senate have publicly disclosed they will vote for a same-sex marriage bill next week, drawing attention to a senator from Baltimore who promised she would cast the deciding vote in favor of the bill if supporters were just one vote short.
Twenty-four votes are needed to pass legislation in the State Senate, and LGBT advocates monitoring the marriage bill say they are reasonably certain that Sen. Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore City) will fulfill her private commitment to vote “yes” if 23 of her colleagues also vote for the measure.
The Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee was expected to vote on Thursday to approve the bill and send it to the full Senate for debate and a floor vote next week.
Earlier this week, Conway told the Baltimore Sun she was still struggling over which way to vote on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which calls for allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry in Maryland.
“She made a statement earlier saying that she would cast the deciding vote if the votes were there,” Josh Hastings, Conway’s legislative assistant, told the Blade on Feb. 11. “But she didn’t think the votes were there. That was like two weeks ago.”
As of Monday, the number of senators who publicly disclosed they would vote for the bill reached 23.
Sens. Katherine Klausmeier and Edward Kasemeyer, both Democrats from Baltimore County, were the latest to announce their decision to vote ‘yes’ on the measure in statements to the media on Monday.
On the previous Friday, Sen. Jim Brochin, also a Democrat from Baltimore County, disclosed that he would vote for the marriage bill. He said his decision to support the bill was driven, in part, by the harsh and intolerant-sounding testimony against the bill by some of its opponents at a public hearing in Annapolis on Feb. 8.
Brochin is a member of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and was present for nearly seven hours of testimony by more than 100 witnesses.
Conway shares the same legislative district as lesbian House of Delegates members Maggie McIntosh and Mary Washington, both Democrats from Baltimore City.
Sources familiar with the Maryland Legislature say Conway has made it clear to her Senate colleagues that she would vote “yes” if at least 23 other senators vote for the bill.
Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), a co-sponsor of the marriage bill, told the Blade Friday that he heard Conway say she would vote for the bill if her vote was needed to secure its passage.
Twenty senators have said they would vote against the bill and three have said they are undecided.
Raskin said the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which held an all-day hearing on the bill on Tuesday, was scheduled to vote on the bill Feb. 17. He said the committee could also vote on amendments to the bill on the same day if committee members decide to introduce one or more amendments.
He said the full Senate was expected to begin debating the bill on Feb. 22, with a vote likely to take place the next day following two full days of debate.
According to Raskin, it has been more difficult for the bill’s supporters to line up the 24 votes needed to pass the bill than it has for obtaining the 29 votes needed to stop an expected filibuster.
“What’s interesting is it’s really been easier for us to get to 29 than to get to 24,” he said. “There are a number of senators who on principle feel that legislation should not be blocked by filibuster. There are also a number of moderate Democrats who, for whatever reason, cannot bring themselves to vote for marriage but are able to tell pro-marriage constituents that they will not stand in the way of a vote.”
Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller (D-Prince Georges and Calvert Counties) has taken such a position, saying he will vote against the marriage bill while voting for cloture to end a filibuster.
“I think he will bring a number of other senators with him in his wake,” Raskin said.
Political observers in the state capital in Annapolis have said support for the marriage bill is stronger in the House of Delegates, which is expected to pass the bill by a wider margin in March. Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he would sign the measure.
In a related development, the Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 11 released a list of witnesses who signed up to testify for or against the marriage bill at a packed public hearing in Annapolis.
The list shows that a total of 124 people signed up to testify on the morning of the Feb. 8 hearing, with 67 indicating they oppose the marriage bill and 57 checking a box saying they support the measure.
A committee aide said the committee did not keep track of the number of people who signed up but did not appear when called to testify during the hearing, which lasted nearly seven hours.
District of Columbia
Adams Morgan queer bar broken into and vandalized
Sinners and Saints targeted Thursday night
On Thursday night, Sinners and Saints, a popular queer bar in Adams Morgan and the only QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color) bar in D.C., was broken into and vandalized with homophobic slurs, according to a recent Instagram post from the establishment.
“Last night, our bar — the only QTBIPOC bar in DC — was broken into and hate-crimed during DC Black Pride, a time meant for celebration, resilience, and joy — and on the eve of WorldPride 2025. We are heartbroken, but we are not broken,” the post read.
The statement was accompanied by a slideshow showing the damage: the front iron gate door and its glass counterpart shattered, glass strewn across the floor, and the word “FAGGOT” scrawled in black ink on the wall.
“This space exists to protect and celebrate queer and trans BIPOC communities, and this attack only strengthens our resolve,” the post continued. “We will NOT be silenced. We will NOT be intimidated. We will NOT back down.”
“To those who tried to harm us: hate fuels our defiance. To our community: we see you, we love you, and we will continue fighting for you. Sinners and Saints is resistance. We will rebuild. We will STAY OPEN. And we will keep our doors — and hearts — wide open for all who need refuge.”
They ended the message with a call to action: “Stand with us. Share this. Show up. We keep us safe.”
“What happened was truly disheartening, but we won’t be silenced,” co-owner Fazeel Ashraf told the Washington Blade. “QTBIPOC spaces are so important in this current political climate. I’d love to do a phone interview with one of my fellow partners.”
Despite the heartbreak surrounding the break-in and what Ashraf described as “a hate crime,” the LGBTQ community quickly rallied in the comments, offering support and assistance.
“Please let us know how we can help!” wrote Nik Battaglia. “I’m a handy queer with handy queer friends — I can fix shit, paint shit, and am happy to stand guard outside.”
Even national figures chimed in.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Laganja Estranja commented, “Incredible response! I believe in you. Sending so much love and strength.”
The Blade reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department regarding the break-in but has not received a response.
To view the damage, and some of the LGBTQ community’s supportive statements, visit the Sinners and Saints’s Instagram page.
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Congratulations to Raffi Freedman-Gurspan on being appointed Associate Director, Federal Funding & Infrastructure Office, at the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration & Finance. Freedman-Gurspan will be returning to her hometown of Boston and joining Gov. Maura Healey’s Administration. Freedman-Gurspan served in both the Obama and Biden administrations as well as worked in LGBTQ and redistricting advocacy during her 11 years in D.C.
Freedman-Gurspan was the first openly transgender person on the White House staff when she worked for President Obama. She most recently served at the U.S. Department of Transportation in former Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s office, as Deputy Director of Public Engagement. Previously she worked with the National Redistricting Action Fund/The All On The Line Campaign, as Deputy States Director. She worked for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) as Director of External Relations. In the Obama White House, she worked in the Office of Public Engagement, as Senior Associate Director. She was the White House Liaison to the LGBTQ community responsible for management of all public inquiries on matters regarding LGBTQ people, including recommending public responses to senior leadership, assisting in drafting administration talking points, and coordinating stakeholder engagement with the White House offices. She worked with the White House, Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), as Outreach and Recruitment Director.
Prior to that she was on the staff of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, House of Representatives Office of State Rep. Carl Sciortino, as legislative director, and worked for the City of Somerville, Health Department, Office of Commissions, Somerville, Mass., as LGBTQ Liaison.
Freedman-Gurspan served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Presidentially Appointed Council; and as a member, and Board Member, Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Norwegian, concentration in Nordic Studies, from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
District of Columbia
Murdered Israeli embassy officials were supporters of D.C.’s LGBTQ synagogue
Bet Mishpachah calls fatal shooting outside Capital Jewish Museum ‘devastating’
The two Israeli embassy officials who were shot to death outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday evening, May 21, were strong supporters of Bet Mishpachah, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive synagogue, according to a statement it released.
“We are especially devastated by the loss of our dear colleague and friend of Bet Mishpachah, Sarah Milgram, and her soon to be fiancé, Yaron Lischinsky,” the LGBTQ synagogue said in a May 22 statement.
“Sarah was the liaison between Bet Mishpachah and the Israeli Embassy, working closely with our staff and clergy,” the statement says. “Her warmth, professionalism, and deep commitment to building bridges within the Jewish community made her not only a trusted partner but a beloved part of our extended congregational family,” according to the statement.
A statement also released on May 22 by the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia says Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, 30, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with other weapons related charges in connection with the shooting deaths of Milgram and Lischinsky.
Officials with the D.C. police and the FBI, which has joined D.C. police in continuing to investigate the case, have said Rodriquez arrived in D.C. from Chicago one day prior to the shooting and appears to have targeted an event taking place at the Capital Jewish Museum for violence at the time it was hosting an event called “Young Diplomats Reception,” in which Israeli Embassy officials were in attendance.
Police and FBI officials have said Rodriguez allegedly shot Milgrim and Lischinsky after they left the Capital Jewish Museum at the conclusion of the event. The museum is located at 575 3rd Street, N.W.
“Surveillance footage reportedly shows Rodriquez walking past the victims before turning and firing multiple rounds,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement says. “After the victims fell, he allegedly continued firing at close range, including as one attempted to crawl away,” it says, adding, “Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun and 21 spent shell casings at the scene.”
Police have said Rodriguez walked into the Capital Jewish Museum after the shooting and was detained by security guards until D.C. police arrived. Witnesses said he began to shout, “free, free Palestine” before police took him into custody.
“Make no mistake, this attack was targeted, antisemitic violence,” said Steven Jenson, an FBI assistant director working on the investigation. “The FBI will continue to pursue all leads and use all available resources to investigate this heinous murder,” he said in the statement.
The fatal shooting took place five days after the Capital Jewish Museum opened a special exhibition called “LGBT Jews in the Federal City” on May 16. “This landmark exhibition explores a turbulent century of celebrations, activism, and change in the nation’s capital by D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community,” the museum said in a statement announcing the exhibition.
Photos and documents related to Bet Mishpachah make up a prominent part of the exhibition.
During a May 22 press conference organized by the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, to provide an update on the investigation into the two murders, Pirro and FBI official Jensen referred to the two murders as a hate crime and terrorist act.
In response to a question from the Washington Blade asking if investigators were looking into whether the LGBTQ exhibition at the Capital Jewish Museum might have played some role in Gonzales’s motive for targeting the museum, Pirro responded to the question.
“So, we are looking into absolutely everything,” she said. “There is so much information we’re looking at. And I must tell you, coming from New York, I’ve never seen the cooperation and coordination that I’m seeing here. It was immediate. It was instant. It was coordinated. And my hat’s off to this area. We’re going to clean it up, thank you,” she said in ending the press conference.
Josh Maxey, Bet Mishpachah’s executive director, said he and Israeli Embassy official Milgram became friends during their two-and-a-half-year interaction working on joint events between the embassy and Bet Mishpachah.
“This became a wonderful two and a half years journey of putting events together, of hosting events together, doing different programs for the community,” Maxey told the Blade. Among the activities the two worked on, he said, was the embassy’s annual LGBTQ Pride event.
Maxie said his own grieving over the death of Milgram and her boyfriend Lischinsky was heightened by the fact that he spoke with her by phone on the day of the shooting shortly before she arrived at the Jewish Museum over plans about this year’s LGBTQ Pride events.
“Sarah really championed us to be included in Israeli events,” Maxey said. “And so, I am just devastated that this true embodiment of an ally was so viciously and violently taken away from us.”
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