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Stein Club endorses Pannell in school board race

Forum addresses LGBT issues, bullying

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'I'm honored and humbled,' Phil Pannell said following the endorsement vote. 'This is an endorsement that I really wanted and that I really need.' (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club Tuesday night endorsed gay rights and Ward 8 civic activist Phil Pannell for a seat on the D.C. State Board of Education for Ward 8 in the city’s April 26 special election.

The club made the endorsement following a forum in which candidates running for the Ward 8 and Ward 4 school board seats spoke to club members on a wide range of issues, including issues related to LGBT youth.

“I’m honored and humbled,” Pannell said following the endorsement vote. “This is an endorsement that I really wanted and that I really need. And I think it’s important for people to know in this city that there are those of us in the LGBT community who put public education at the top of our agendas.”

Pannell, a longtime member of the Stein Club, received 62.5 percent of the votes cast, bringing him over the 60 percent vote threshold required for an endorsement under the club’s rules. His closest rival was D.C. civic activist and LGBT rights supporter Eugene Kinlow, who received 34 percent of the vote.

Ward 8 candidate Sandra Williams received 3 percent and the remaining three Ward 8 candidates attending the forum – Tijwanna Phillips, Larry Pretlow II, and Cardell Shelton – did not receive any votes.

Three other candidates running in the nine-candidate Ward 8 race – Trayon White, R. Joyce Scott, and Anthony Muhammad – did not attend the forum.

In the Ward 4 race, none of the four candidates participating in the Stein Club forum received 60 percent of the vote, preventing the club from making an endorsement in that contest. Ward 4 educator An Almquist came close, capturing 54.5 percent of the vote in a second ballot runoff against Ward 4 activist D. Kamili Anderson, who received 39.3 percent of the vote. The other two Ward 4 candidates who participated in the forum were Andrew Moss and Bill Quirk.

Adam Tenner, executive director of the local group Metro Teen AIDS, served as moderator for the forum. Among the questions he asked was how the candidates would address the D.C. public school system’s high drop-out rate, which Tenner said was believed to be high among LGBT students. He also asked about HIV prevention programs, including condom distribution in the schools.

Pannell said school bullying and harassment of LGBT students was a contributing factor in students’ decision to drop out of school. He said many students, including LGBT students, regularly fail to attend school, contributing to what he called an unacceptably high truancy rate in the school system.

“So many of our LGBTQ students find that the school experience isn’t working for them,” he said.

In addition to improving programs aimed at curtailing bullying, Pannell said he would push for allowing students to form LGBT-related student organizations and for encouraging them to serve as volunteers for LGBT-related organizations in the city such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and Us Helping Us.

Each of the other candidates participating in the forum also promised to provide support in varying ways to LGBT students in the city’s schools.

Pannell and the other candidates expressed support for age appropriate HIV prevention and sex education programs. All of the candidates said they would restrict condom distribution in the schools to parental consent.

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Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

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

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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.

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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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.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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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.

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