Local
Marathon hearing set for Friday on Md. marriage bill
Two committees will hear at least eight hours of testimony Friday


Luke Clippinger and Tiffany Alston are on opposite sides of the Md. marriage bill, and will be face to face this Friday. (Washington Blade photo of Clippinger by Michael Key / photo of Alston in public domain)
Officials with two committees of the Maryland House of Delegates planned for at least eight hours of testimony in Annapolis on Friday by witnesses for and against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.
In a scheduled joint hearing, the House Judiciary Committee and the Health and Government Operations Committee were also to hear testimony on a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
The hearing was to take place 10 days after nearly 100 witnesses testified on the marriage bill before a hearing of the Maryland Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee. Sources familiar with that committee said it was expected to vote to approve the same-sex marriage bill, known as the Civil Marriage Protection Act, on Thursday, Feb. 9.
“We think it will come up for a vote on that day, but we’re not absolutely certain,” said one knowledgeable source familiar with the committee.
Most political observers believe supporters of the same-sex marriage bill have the votes to pass in committee and in the full Senate. They say the vote in the House was expected to be close and its passage there was uncertain. Observers say the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage would likely be killed in committee.
Earlier this week, Rev. Al Sharpton, the nationally known civil rights leader from New York, became the latest public figure to record a video expressing support for same-sex marriage in Maryland.
“As a Baptist minister, I don’t have the right to impose my beliefs on anyone else,” Sharpton said in the video, which can be viewed on YouTube. “So if committed gay and lesbian couples want to marry, that’s their business. None of us should stand in their way,” he said.
Among the committee members expected to attend and ask questions at the joint House hearing on Friday were gay Dels. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore) and Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County).
Also expected to participate in the hearing were Judiciary Committee members Sam Arora (D-Montgomery County), Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s County) and Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City). All three startled LGBT advocates last year when they announced they were changing their position from supporters to opponents of the marriage bill.
Arora, who shares the same legislative district as Cullison, drew expressions of outrage from some LGBT activists when he announced he would vote against the marriage measure on the House floor. The activists noted that he ran for his seat in the 2010 election on a platform in support of the marriage bill and signed on as one of its co-sponsors.
Arora, who has not responded to requests from the Blade for an interview, has said his newfound opposition to the bill is based on his religious beliefs.
Virginia
Walkinshaw wins Democratic primary in Va. 11th Congressional District
Special election winner will succeed Gerry Connolly

On Saturday, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary for the special election that will determine who will represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
The special election is being held following the death of the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represented the district from 2008 until 2024, when he announced his retirement, and subsequently passed away from cancer in May.
Walkinshaw is not unknown to Virginia’s 11th District — he has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020 and had served as Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019. Before he passed away, Connolly had endorsed Walkinshaw to take his place, claiming that choosing Walkinshaw to be his chief of staff was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”
The Democratic nominee has run his campaign on mitigating Trump’s “dangerous” agenda of dismantling the federal bureaucracy, which in the district is a major issue as many of the district’s residents are federal employees and contractors.
“I’m honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said on X. “This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.”
In addition to protecting federal workers, Walkinshaw has a long list of progressive priorities — some of which include creating affordable housing, reducing gun violence, expanding immigrant protections, and “advancing equality for all” by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Fair Housing Act.
Various democratic PACs contributed more than $2 million to Walkinshaw’s ad campaigns, much of which touted his connection to Connolly.
Walkinshaw will face Republican Stewart Whitson in the special election in September, where he is the likely favorite to win.
Maryland
LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline option is going away. Here’s where else to go in Md.
Changes will take effect July 17

By ANNA RUBENSTEIN | The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer offer specialized support to LGBTQ people, starting July 17, the Trump administration announced last week.
Dialing the hotline at 988 will still be available for crisis support. But callers will no longer be able to reach specific LGBTQ services by pressing Option 3. The change worries advocates because their data shows the LGBTQ community has a disproportionally high suicide rate.
Even after the option ends, here’s how to receive tailored support if you’re in Maryland.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Silver Spring holds annual Pride In The Plaza
‘Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience’

Silver Spring’s annual Pride in the Plaza event took place on Sunday to celebrate the LGBTQ community and emphasize inclusion and resilience.
“Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience, love,” Robyn Woods, program and outreach director for Live In Your Truth, which organized the event, said. “I mean, just being surrounded by the community and so many great entrepreneurs, business owners, and just being a part of this whole rainbow coalition that we call the LGBTQIA to be about.”
With the event being her first time organizing for Live In Your Truth, Woods said she felt emotional to see the support and love at the event.
“Some people (are) bringing out their children, their babies, their grandparents,” Woods said. “It’s a lot more allies here than anything else. That type of support to me means so much more than just support from my community; just outside support, inside support, so much support around it, so much love. Everyone’s smiling outside, helping each other.”
Attendees of the event were able to head over to the Family Fun Zone, an air-conditioned Pride Cool Down Lounge, or watch live drag performances in the main stage area.
Along with entertainment and a shaved-ice stand, rows of information tables stood along the plaza, including FreeState Justice, the Washington Spirit, Trans Maryland, Moco Pride Center, and the Heartwood Program, an organization that offers support, therapy, education, and resources to the LGBTQ community.
“I want people to know about our services, and I love what we have to offer,” Jessica Simon, psychotherapist for Heartwood Program’s Gender Wellness Clinic, said. “I (also) want to be part of a celebration with the community, and so it feels good to be here with other people who have something they want to give to the community.”
She added that within today’s political climate, to which she called an “antidote to shame,” it’s important to be celebrating Pride.
“There’s a lot of demonization of LGBTQI people,” Siena Iacuvazzi, facilitator for Maryland Trans Unity, said. “(Pride) is part of the healing process.”
Iacuvazzi said she was taught to be ashamed of who she was growing up, but being a part of a community helped her flourish in the future.
“I was taught how to hate myself. I was taught that I was an abomination to God,” she said. “But being a community is like understanding that there are people who have experienced the same thing, and they’re flourishing. They’re flourishing because they’re willing to stand up for themselves as human beings and discover themselves and understand what’s true for themselves.”
She added that Pride allows for a mutual understanding to take place.
“It’s more of a sense of belonging … and just taking that home and understanding you’re not alone,” Iacuvazzi said. “We’re each taking our own journey — we’re not putting that on each other. It’s just walking away with a sense of belonging and humanity.”
Similar to Iacuvazzi, Woods said she hopes attendees’ biggest takeaways would be family, fun, resilience, and pride.
“Being proud of yourself, being happy for who you are, and representation and how much it matters,” she continued. “And I think all these young people that are walking around here get to see versions of themselves, but older. They get to see so many different lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual people that are successful, that are showing love, that care, and it’s not how we’re portrayed in the media. It’s lovely to see it out here. (It’s) like we’re one big old, happy family.”
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