Local
Md. House committee approves trans bill
Weekend vote expected in full House of Delegates
A bill that would ban employment and housing discrimination against transgender people in Maryland cleared a second crucial hurdle Friday when a committee of the state’s House of Delegates approved the bill by a vote of 15-8.
The bill now goes to the full House of Delegates, where it must be approved by midnight on Monday to make it eligible to be sent to the State Senate for final approval.
“The great news is we thought the vote would be 14-9 since we had 14 commitments,” said Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, the statewide LGBT group leading efforts on behalf of the bill. “So we actually picked up another supporter.”
The 23-member Committee on Health and Government Operations voted mostly along party lines in approving the bill. Fourteen of the committee’s 15 Democrats voted for the measure. Seven of the eight Republicans on the committee voted no. The sole Republican voting for it was Del. Robert Costa of Anne Arundel County. The lone Democrat voting “no” was John Donaghoue of Washington County.
Among those voting “yes” were gay Dels. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) and Peter Murphy (D-Charles County).
The committee’s action represents the first time a transgender rights bill in Maryland has been reported out of committee for a vote in the state’s House or Senate.
“It looks good on the floor [of the full House],” Meneses-Sheets said. “We have a strong whip count. We need to keep up the work every second until the vote is taken.”
With dozens of bills competing for a vote as the House scrambles to complete its business by the end of the day Monday, activists supporting the transgender rights measure, the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act, say the next key hurdle was to make sure lawmakers bring it up for a vote.
The bill calls for amending the state’s anti-discrimination laws by adding protection on the basis of gender identity to the area of employment, housing, and credit.
In a statement released on Friday, Equality Maryland said it considers “a few non-substantive amendments” to the bill approved by a subcommittee earlier this week to be “relatively inconsequential.”
The statement said one of the amendments modified the bill’s definition of gender identity.
“This definition will provide protection both for a person’s gender identity as well as the way in which they express their gender in terms of presentation,” the statement says. “Equality Maryland worked with the subcommittee and committee to ensure that both areas would be covered under the bill’s definition.”
According to Meneses-Sheets, supporters of the bill in the State Senate, including gay Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) were committed to take immediate steps to shepherd the bill through the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the Senate floor if it clears a vote by the House this weekend.
Some transgender activists, including members of the group Trans Maryland, oppose the bill on grounds that it doesn’t include protection in the category of public accommodations. The bill’s author and lead sponsor in the House, Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties), said she removed a public accommodations provision after determining it was the only way to obtain enough votes to pass the measure this year.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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