Local

Gay couple’s $100,000 wedding

Locals say contest payoff was worth loss of privacy

Published

14 years ago

March 17, 2011

Carl Cox and Darin Henderson, a local couple, won a $100,000 wedding contest and were married earlier this month in Washington. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Local couple Carl Cox and Darin Henderson know what it’s like to come out in a big way — as do the other contestants of the nation’s first same-sex wedding contest.

The competition, a bid by local vendors to commemorate marriage equality in D.C., promoted the diverse stories of gay couples all over the U.S. hoping to wed.

The winners, Cox and Henderson, earned thousands of online votes last summer and cemented their union on March 4 with the top prize — a $100,000 all-inclusive wedding. The men, who married at Metropolitan Community Church, were honored to have their relationship legally recognized.

Nevertheless, the contest challenged them in ways they’d never imagined.

“[Carl and Darin] had to be out in their lives, out with their friends, out with everybody in a way that they’ve never been before,” says Michael Kress, a local photographer who headed the Freedom2Wed contest.

“When we first decided to get married, we didn’t even know what that was going to feel like, what it was going to look like,” Cox says. “Nothing about this was private. We had to let the world know what we were doing and why we were doing it. And yeah, it was about winning, but it was also about getting … our personal story out, about love surmounting all odds.”

Cox and Henderson weren’t the only pair whose relationship was placed under a microscope, however. Six couples competed for the final prize and runners up Tonya Agnew and Amy Crampton confronted a challenge of a different kind. Parents to two boys, Jesse and Leo, the women had to broadcast their relationship and family across the Midwest town of Lafayette, Ind. When they learned they were finalists, they were somewhat apprehensive.

“I had a tendency to think of all the reasons why we shouldn’t go through with this,” Crampton says. “It was scary to put my family out there.”

But it’s family that ultimately inspired the couple to continue on. “Once you’ve become a parent, there’s really not a choice whether or not you can hide,” Crampton says. “I have to be out, I have to portray how proud I am and I can’t worry about anyone else’s comfort level. Raising two boys, I know how important it is to model behavior for them.”

To the couple’s amazement, the entire town rallied behind them and they drew in support from family, friends, colleagues and the public.

Although they didn’t win, the journey brought them closer as a couple and as a family. They’ve since shared their story as keynote speakers at several local events and they plan to continue to be vocal about marriage in their home state of Indiana.

“The experience has been very affirming and liberating,” Agnew says. “It has empowered us as a couple and I really feel like it changed us in a very positive way.”

Agnew is also thankful for the close bond the contest created between the finalists. She and her partner attended their friends’ wedding, along with fellow runners up Kareem Murphy and DeWayne Davis.

Murphy and Davis, longtime Maryland residents, spoke highly of the contest-inspired opportunity to make their relationship public. “The contest was a wonderful experience for us … we got the chance to tell our story to thousands of people,” Murphy says.

For Cox and Henderson, the wedding was simply the culmination of a long journey of self-discovery.

“To have so many people standing in your corner, saying what you’re doing is wonderful … standing up for you … I can’t tell you how much it means,” Henderson says.

Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Published

13 hours ago

May 4, 2025

Staff reports

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at CPAC in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Venus Valhalla performs at Pitchers. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2025

Michael K. Lavers

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

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.