Local

Fast Five Fix: March 8

Maine marriage polls look promising but give pause, incredible HIV med news, North Carolina on the verge, and more

Published

13 years ago

March 8, 2012

Maine voters polling graphic by Phil Reese

A majority of Maine voters support same-sex marriage, but polling shows the exact ballot language confuses people. To help you understand, here's an infographic that took 2 hours to make and crashed our computers twice. (Washington Blade graphic by Phil Reese)

Good morning! As the java sinks in — along with word from ThinkProgress that DC just made it a whole lot easier for out of state gays to have messy, expensive split-ups (that’s the sound of lawyers cheering!) — here’s the gay news that’s got us jabbering today:

JoeMyGod tips us off to several pieces of HIV treatment and prevention news: FIRST, Gilead is preparing to release a four-in-one med called “Quad” (creative!) that will rival Atripla’s safety and effectiveness, without the neurological side effects, and with higher achievement of target levels of HIV (but more nausea); ALSO, are we on the verge of having an effective monthly injection HIV prevention regiment?
As seen above, ThinkProgress alerts us to a new PPP poll that says Maine voters are cool with extending marriage rights to same-sex couples… but aren’t really sure about the ballot language that’s been chosen to do so. That’s why its very important that the gays in Maine start making commercials that just say “Yes!”
Over 100,000 have signed a Change.org petition asking President Obama to deliver an executive order barring LGBT employment discrimination with Federal contractors. And growing.
AMERICAblog Gay thinks the far right is getting desperate in North Carolina: might we actually beat back an anti-gay ballot measure in the south?
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon has called for member states to stop LGBT discrimination during a historic human rights council hearing, according to ThinkProgress.

Finally, this video that Towleroad shared with us is really hard to watch. A nightclub bouncer at a gay bar in West Hollywood drops some homophobic slurs on a decidedly drunk and unruly gay patron, and appears to punch him several times while telling him to “stop struggling.” Is this gay-on-gay crime, or have some gay bars slipped and hired some unenlightened straight homophobes to handle their security?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAozn3Qt3hk

The transcript courtesy Towleroad:

“Look at my face man,” the victim says, “-they f**ked me up.”

One of two men holding him down says: “F**k your face. I don’t give a shit about your face.”

Victim: “Trust me please I didn’t start the sh*t. I was with my boyfriend. I’m a gay boy.”

Face down on the ground, he tries to look up at his captors. One of them says:

“Yeah well your a f**kin’ [unintelligible] … Stop f**kin’ struggling motherfucker. ”

“Stop resisting,” one of the men says. “Stay still motherf**ker.”

Then one of the captors unleashes this: “Stop fuckin’ moving you c*cks**ker.”

Just then a security guard with a badge walks up, and one of the captors says, “Hey can we get some cuffs please.”

“Stay where you are motherf**ker,” the victim is told. “Shut up.”

Up Next

Is Obama abdicating party leadership on marriage?

Don't Miss

Obama campaign ducks question on marriage in Dem platform

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Photos

PHOTOS: WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert

Doechii, Khalid among performers

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Michael Key

Doechii performs at the WorldPride Closing Concert on Sunday, June 8. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Baltimore

Baltimore Trans Pride to take place Saturday

Baltimore Safe Haven hosts annual event

Published

5 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Daniela White

Baltimore Trans Pride in 2022. Baltimore Safe Haven's annual event will take place on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Linus Berggren)

Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.

Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.

Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.

Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.

“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”

In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.

“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”

Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.

“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”

Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.

“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”

Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.

“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”