Local
Vote on D.C. anti-bullying bill expected in fall
Fate of marriage ‘officiant’ measure unclear
Council member Phil Mendelson chairs a committee overseeing the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act. (Washington Blade file photo)
Action on legislation pending before the D.C. Council that would prohibit bullying in the city’s schools, parks, and libraries, among other places, has been put on hold until the Council returns from its summer recess in September.
A separate bill of interest to the LGBT community that would allow a notary public to perform a civil marriage at a location other than the D.C. courthouse remains stalled in the Council’s Judiciary Committee since the panel held a hearing on the measure last October.
The Bullying and Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011 has strong support in the LGBT community following widely publicized incidents of gay teen suicides linked to school bullying. Nearly all Council members have signed on as co-sponsors or co-introducers of the bill.
But LGBT advocacy groups believe the bill as introduced doesn’t have adequate enforcement and implementation provisions. They are working closely with Council members to prepare one or more amendments to strengthen the bill, according to Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance.
The bill requires the city’s public and charter schools, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the city’s public libraries, and the University of the District of Columbia to adopt “a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying” in their respective facilities, buildings and grounds.
The legislation defines harassment, intimidation or bullying as “any gesture or written, verbal or physical act, including electronic communication, that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory handicap, or by any other distinguishing characteristic.”
LGBT youth representatives joined officials from LGBT organizations, including the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, a national group that monitors anti-LGBT bullying, in testifying for the bill and for amendments to strengthen it at a Council hearing in May.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act of 2011, which was authored by Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), say it’s aimed at giving couples – gay or straight – who are interested in a non-religious civil marriage the option of having such a marriage performed at a location outside the D.C. Superior Court building.
Under current city law, civil marriages must be performed at the courthouse by a court-appointed marriage “officiant” unless the parties getting married know a judge and the judge agrees to perform the marriage at another location, such as a banquet hall or a private home.
Backers of the bill say D.C. Superior Court judges, who are authorized to perform marriages under city law, do so only on a limited basis and are not available to most people seeking a civil marriage.
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee overseeing the bill, could not be immediately reached to determine whether he plans to move the bill out of committee for a vote anytime soon.
At the time of the hearing in October, Mendelson told the Blade he believed more research was needed on the bill and he had no immediate plans to call for a vote in committee or before the full Council.
“As far as I know, the notary bill will not be marked up,” gay activist Bob Summersgill told the Blade last week. “The bill is severely flawed and will need to be completely rewritten.”
Summersgill testified in favor of the bill at the October hearing. But he called for major changes that would allow any adult to perform a civil marriage by obtaining a one-day authorization to become a marriage officiant.
Massachusetts and some counties in California have similar one-day officiant laws that allow a couple planning to marry to select a friend or family member or anyone else of their choosing to perform their civil marriage. In Massachusetts the person seeking to perform the marriage must apply in advance and pay a $25 fee for the one-day authorization.
South Carolina, Florida and Maine have laws that allow a notary public to perform civil weddings.
Gay Council member David Catania (I-At-Large) and Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) joined Cheh in co-introducing the D.C. Marriage Officiant Amendment Act last year. Gay Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) signed on as co-sponsors. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) co-sponsored the bill last year but has not signed on as a co-sponsor this year.
Cheh told the Blade in an e-mail that she would consider the changes proposed by Summersgill to broaden the bill to include a one-day officiant provision similar to Massachusetts’ civil marriage law.
“I don’t know exactly why the bill hasn’t moved,” Cheh said. “Council member Mendelson has had a huge volume of stuff to move through his committee, and I have no reason to think he is opposed to the bill,” she said.
Steven Lowe, a D.C. resident who testified in support of the bill at last October’s hearing, said the bill as currently written provides couples seeking a civil marriage an option for having their marriage ceremony outside the courthouse. He describes the courthouse as “bureaucratic” and unappealing to many couples seeking a civil marriage.
Lowe said he doesn’t object to Summersgills’ call for a one-day officiant provision that would be available to all adults.
“But the point for me was to have something less restrictive and a non-religious option” in a location that people can choose, Lowe said. “So I supported the notary public bill because it was at least a move in the right direction.”
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.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
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.”
Adams Morgan queer bar broken into and vandalized
‘Things Like This’ embraces formula and plus-size visibility
Calendar: May 23-29
Comings & Goings
New doc chronicles gay hero’s journey from rape to forgiveness
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections
