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Transcript of Madaleno’s speech
Gay Md. state official addresses colleagues Thursday on Senate floor
Following are the remarks that Maryland State Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), the only gay member of that body, delivered Thursday morning during the second day of debate on a bill that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in Maryland.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for your leadership for moving this forward and helping us to have, I think, a very dignified debate in the Senate.
I’m going to start for a moment to remember one of our former colleagues, Gwen Britt, who many of the people in this room served with either in the Senate or the House and to remind people that, in fact, Sen. Britt was going to be the initial sponsor of this bill in 2008 when we introduced it. And it was her untimely death of a heart attack just three days before we were scheduled to introduce this bill that we wound up having to change the sponsorship. Sen. Britt was dedicated to this issue. Sen. Britt’s husband, Travis, in fact, will be submitting testimony tomorrow to the House Judiciary Committee in support of this issue, as he has remained committed. And I didn’t want to have this moment go by without remembering Gwenn Britt and her many contributions to improve the lives in our state and in our country.
I want to thank all of you for this debate and I want to thank the people of Maryland for what I think has been a very reasoned debate about an issue that can be very emotional that does challenge a lot of the beliefs many people have. I certainly appreciate the journey that all of us have been on in the Senate.
You know, this bill is quite simple. It has two parts to it. It reiterates that no religious denomination will ever be required to recognize or perform or bless or celebrate any marriage that is against its beliefs. At the same time, it provides full equality under the law for thousands of same-gender couples in our state, couples like Mark and myself. Many of you know Mark. Many of you have gotten to know him over the years — my partner.
But even using that term partner sounds a little odd. You know, we had a church wedding in our faith. We had a church wedding 10 years ago. We stood with our minister in front of our friends, in front of our family, in front of our community and made a vow to the commitment to each other — the commitment to love each other, to honor, to occasionally obey — to live our lives together. He in my heart is my spouse, even though the laws in the State of Maryland do not say he is — he is my spouse in every sense of the word.
But to the law, he remains a legal stranger to me. He is my partner. I wouldn’t ask any of you to call your spouses your partner because that makes it sound as if he’s your business associate, that your spouse is your business associate and not the person you choose to spend your life with.
Without full and equal civil marriage Maryland makes sure that thousands of its families never forget that they are outsiders, that they are not quite equal. Our state and our nation were founded on principle of fairness and equality. These principles are timeless. Unfortunately, their application has not always been so. Yet every generation of Americans has held out their hand to someone who had been left out of this promise, held out their hand and brought them into our civil society, saying you are not the other, you are us.
That is what this moment is about today. It’s about embracing all of the families of our state.
A few years ago I had a chance to be going on a walk with my daughter. It was a nice spring day and she was picking the little weed flowers that grow — the dandelions, the butter cups, the little flowers that grow on front lawns of people who don’t have time to put weed killer down, right? So she was picking the little flowers that, you know, have the white seed pods. When you blow it the little seeds go flying away. And she handed me one of those flowers and said, “Daddy, will you hold my wishes for me?” I said, “Hold your wishes?” She said, “Yes, my teacher told me this is a wishing flower. When you blow on it you make a wish and you let the wishes fly.”
That to me, in essence, is what parenthood is about. It’s about holding that precious little flower and blowing and seeing it blossom in all sorts of unexpected ways. It is also, I think the extreme honor that we get as members of the legislature to hold those wishes, not just for our family or for ourselves, but for our community.
And there are many people in our state who are wishing for this, whose live will be improved, whose hopes will be realized, whose dreams will become true if we enact this. This will be a memorable day, a memorable day that will improve the lives of thousands of families around our state, thousands of families like my own.
Mr. President, I can’t tell you how much I can’t wait for this debate to end — not today — so I can go back, as my colleague from the 20th District talked about, I can go back to being the boring budget geek that he so kindly recognized me in the Washington Post as being. I can’t wait to get back to the issues that all Marylanders, whether they are straight or gay, black or white, Hispanic — the ones that they want us to work on — the one Maryland issue of jobs and growth, of moving our state forward.
This bill moves our state forward. Other legislation that we will have this year will move our state forward. I am so proud that in Maryland we, as we have from the beginning, look towards toleration and towards the future and embrace of a better future for us all. I urge everyone to consider casting a green vote on this bill. And I once again thank you for your leadership and for the time in the body.
Virginia
Va. activists preparing campaign in support of repealing marriage amendment
Referendum about ‘dignity and equal protection under the law’
Virginia voters in November will vote on whether to repeal their state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed House Bill 612 into law. It facilitates a referendum for voters to approve the repeal of the 2006 Marshall-Newman Amendment. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country in 2014, codifying marriage equality in Virginia’s constitution would protect it in the state in case the decision is overturned.
Maryland voters in 2012 approved Question 6, which upheld the state’s marriage equality law, by a 52-48 percent margin. Same-sex marriage became legal in Maryland on Jan. 1, 2013.
LGBTQ advocacy groups and organizations that oppose marriage equality mounted political campaigns ahead of the referendum.
Equality Virginia has been involved in advancing LGBTQ rights in Virginia since 1989.
Equality Virginia is working under its 501c3 designation in conjunction with Equality Virginia Advocates, which operates under a 501c4 designation, to plan campaigns in support of repealing the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
The two main campaigns on which Equality Virginia will be focused are education and voter mobilization. Reed Williams, the group’s director of digital engagement and narrative, spoke with the Washington Blade about Equality Virginia’s plans ahead of the referendum.
Williams said an organization for a “statewide public education campaign” is currently underway. Williams told the Blade its goal will be “to ensure voters understand what this amendment does and why updating Virginia’s constitution matters for families across the commonwealth.”
The organization is also working on a “robust media and voter mobilization campaign to identify and turn out voters” to repeal Marshall-Newman Amendment. Equality Virginia plans to work with the community members to guarantee voters are getting clear and accurate information regarding the meaning of this vote and its effect on the Virginia LGBTQ community.
“We believe Virginia voters are ready to bring our constitution in line with both the law and the values of fairness and freedom that define our commonwealth,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “This referendum is about ensuring loving, committed couples and their families are treated with dignity and equal protection under the law.”
The Human Rights Campaign has also worked closely with Equality Virginia.
“It’s time to get rid of outdated, unconstitutional language and ensure that same sex couples are protected in Virginia,” HRC President Kelley Robinson told the Blade in a statement.
District of Columbia
D.C. police arrest man for burglary at gay bar Spark Social House
Suspect ID’d from images captured by Spark Social House security cameras
D.C. police on Feb. 18 arrested a 63-year-old man “of no fixed address” for allegedly stealing cash from the registers at the gay bar Spark Social House after unlawfully entering the bar at 2009 14th St., N.W., around 12:04 a.m. after it had closed for business, according to a police incident report.
“Later that day officers canvassing for the suspect located him nearby,” a separate police statement says. “63-year-old Tony Jones of no fixed address was arrested and charged with Burglary II,” the statement says.
The police incident report states that the bar’s owner, Nick Tsusaki, told police investigators that the bar’s security cameras captured the image of a man who has frequently visited the bar and was believed to be homeless.
“Once inside, the defendant was observed via the establishment’s security cameras opening the cash register, removing U.S. currency, and placing the currency into the left front pocket of his jacket,” the report says.
Tsusaki told the Washington Blade that he and Spark’s employees have allowed Jones to enter the bar many times since it opened last year to use the bathroom in a gesture of compassion knowing he was homeless. Tsusaki said he is not aware of Jones ever having purchased anything during his visits.
According to Tsusaki, Spark closed for business at around 10:30 p.m. on the night of the incident at which time an employee did not properly lock the front entrance door. He said no employees or customers were present when the security cameras show Jones entering Spark through the front door around 12:04 a.m.
Tsusaki said the security camera images show Jones had been inside Spark for about three hours on the night of the burglary and show him taking cash out of two cash registers. He took a total of $300, Tsusaki said.
When Tsusaki and Spark employees arrived at the bar later in the day and discovered the cash was missing from the registers they immediately called police, Tsusaki told the Blade. Knowing that Jones often hung out along the 2000 block of 14th Street where Spark is located, Tsusaki said he went outside to look for him and saw him across the street and pointed Jones out to police, who then placed him under arrest.
A police arrest affidavit filed in court states that at the time they arrested him police found the stolen cash inside the pocket of the jacket Jones was wearing. It says after taking him into police custody officers found a powdered substance in a Ziploc bag also in Jones’s possession that tested positive for cocaine, resulting in him being charged with cocaine possession in addition to the burglary charge.
D.C. Superior Court records show a judge ordered Jones held in preventive detention at a Feb. 19 presentment hearing. The judge then scheduled a preliminary hearing for the case on Feb. 20, the outcome of which couldn’t immediately be obtained.
District of Columbia
Judge rescinds order against activist in Capital Pride lawsuit
Darren Pasha accused of stalking organization staff, board members, volunteers
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Feb.18 agreed to rescind his earlier ruling declaring local gay activist Darren Pasha in default for failing to attend a virtual court hearing regarding an anti-stalking lawsuit brought against him by the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual Pride events.
The Capital Pride lawsuit, initially filed on Oct. 27, 2025, accuses Pasha of engaging in a year-long “course of conduct” of “harassment, intimidation, threats, manipulation, and coercive behavior” targeting Capital Pride staff, board members, and volunteers.
In his own court filings without retaining an attorney, Pasha has strongly denied the stalking related allegations against him, saying “no credible or admissible evidence has been provided” to show he engaged in any wrongdoing.
Judge Robert D. Okum nevertheless on Feb. 6 approved a temporary stay-away order requiring Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride’s staff, volunteers, and board members until the time of a follow-up court hearing scheduled for April 17. He reduced the stay-away distance from 200 yards as requested by Capital Pride.
In his two-page order issued on Feb. 18, Okun stated that Pasha explained that he was involved in a scooter accident in which he was injured and his phone was damaged, preventing him from joining the Feb. 6 court hearing.
“Therefore, the court finds there is a good cause for vacating the default,” Okun states in his order.
At the time he initially approved the default order at the Feb. 6 hearing that Pasha didn’t attend, Okun scheduled an April 17 ex parte proof hearing in which Capital Pride could have requested a ruling in its favor seeking a permanent anti-stalking order against Pasha.
In his Feb. 18 ruling rescinding the default order Okun changed the April 17 ex parte proof hearing to an initial scheduling conference hearing in which a decision on the outcome of the case is not likely to happen.
In addition, he agreed to consider Pasha’s call for a jury trial and gave Capital Pride 14 days to contest that request. The Capital Pride lawsuit initially called for a non-jury trial by judge.
One request by Pasha that Okum denied was a call for him to order Capital Pride to stop its staff or volunteers from posting information about the lawsuit on social media. Pasha has said the D.C.-based online blog called DC Homos, which Pasha claims is operated by someone associated with Capital Pride, has been posting articles portraying him in a negative light and subjecting him to highly negative publicity.
“The defendant has not set forth a sufficient basis for the court to restrict the plaintiff’s social media postings, and the court therefore will deny the defendant’s request in his social media praecipe,” Okun states in his order.
A praecipe is a formal written document requesting action by a court.
Pasha called the order a positive development in his favor. He said he plans to file another motion with more information about what he calls the unfair and defamatory reports about him related to the lawsuit by DC Homos, with a call for the judge to reverse his decision not to order Capital Pride to stop social media postings about the lawsuit.
Pasha points to a video interview on the LGBTQ Team Rayceen broadcast, a link to which he sent to the Washington Blade, in which DC Homos operator Jose Romero acknowledged his association with Capital Pride Alliance.
Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos didn’t immediately respond to a message from the Blade asking whether Romero was a volunteer or employee with Capital Pride.
Pasha also said he believes the latest order has the effect of rescinding the temporary stay away order against him approved by Okun in his earlier ruling, even though Okun makes no mention of the stay away order in his latest ruling. Capital Pride attorney Nick Harrison told the Blade the stay away order “remains in full force and effect.”
Harrison said Capital Pride has no further comment on the lawsuit.
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Judge rescinds order against activist in Capital Pride lawsuit
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Calendar: February 20-26
