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Norton, Bowser win Stein Club endorsement

Shadow Senator Brown falls short of votes needed to win endorsement

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Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Kwame Brown & openly gay City Council member David Catania. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Homes Norton and Ward 4 D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser on Feb. 16 won the endorsement of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club for the city’s April 3 Democratic primary.

The Stein Club, the city’s largest LGBT political organization, also endorsed Democrat Nate Bennett-Fleming for the post of U.S. shadow representative.

The city created one shadow House seat and two shadow Senate seats in the early 1980s as nonpaid positions with no voting authority for the purpose of advocating for D.C. statehood and D.C. voting rights in Congress.

The club didn’t approve an endorsement for the shadow U.S. Senate seat up for election this year after incumbent Michael D. Brown fell short by less than one percent of the required 60 percent vote of the club membership needed for an endorsement.

Stein President Lateefah Williams said Brown received just over 59 percent of the vote, with the balance of the votes going to challenger Pete Ross and for the ballot option of “no endorsement.”

Williams said Bowser, a long-time supporter of LGBT rights who voted in 2009 for the city’s same-sex marriage law, won the club endorsement with 72 percent of the vote.

Bennett-Fleming and Norton are running unopposed in the primary, with Bennett-Fleming also running unopposed in the November general election.

Bowser faces five opponents. Three of them, along with Bowser, Norton, and Bennett-Fleming, attended and spoke at a club meeting at the Metropolitan Community Church on Ridge Street, N.W., where the endorsement votes took place.

The three challengers to Muriel Bowser that attended the meeting – Renee L. Bowser, Judi Jones, and Max Skolnik – and the other two – Calvin Gurley and Baruti Jahi – submitted responses to a Stein Club questionnaire expressing support for LGBT related issues, including the city’s same-sex marriage law.

The candidates’ questionnaire responses are available for viewing on the Stein Club’s website, www.steindemocrats.org.

No Republican filed to run against Norton in the November election. Statehood-Green Party candidate Natale Lino Stracuzzi is expected to run against Norton in the November general election. Political observers consider Norton the odds on favorite to win another term in Congress.

LGBT activists, along with the Stein Club, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, and other groups consider Norton one of the strongest LGBT advocates in Congress.

Williams said the Stein Club will vote on endorsements for the Ward 7 and Ward 8 Council seats on Feb. 23 at a location to be announced. She said the club would vote on endorsements in the At-Large Council race on March 1 at the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill.

Ward 7 incumbent Yvette Alexander and Ward 8 incumbent Marion Barry were the only two Council members to vote against the same-sex marriage law but have otherwise supported LGBT related issues during their tenure in office. Alexander faces seven opponents in the April 3 primary. Barry faces four opponents.

In the At-Large Council race, incumbent Vincent Orange, who captured the seat in a special election in 2011, faces three opponents. One of the opponents, Sekou Biddle, ran and lost against Orange in 2011. All four candidates running for the seat in the primary have expressed support on a wide range of LGBT related issues, including the same-sex marriage law.

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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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Sasha Colby performs at Pitchers in 2023. 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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World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

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Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

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